SEED OF DOUBT
by J7339
Summary: Tensions between Lucas and Captain Bridger become strained to breaking point, both unaware that they are being manipulated by a common enemy. But will the truth be discovered in time. CHAPTER 5 Posted
1. Chapter 1

**SEED OF DOUBT**

**By Jules**

Author Notes: This idea was one that came to me recently when I was trying to think of a way of bringing back the character Marilyn Stark from the 1st Season. The idea of having her again as the villain appealed to me greatly, but I wanted her revenge focused on a more personal level than just being about losing her

Captaincy of the SeaQuest. Of course there was only one avenue I could travel down, where she intends to drive a large wedge between the two people that mean so much to each other.

The first chapter or two may be a littler darker in terms of the father/son relationship between Bridger and Lucas and it will be tested. I don't usually have Lucas calling Bridger Dad a whole lot in my stories, but it does appear on a few occasions in this story.

_a seed is planted……………._

The SeaQuest was due arrive home in the next twenty four hours. Normally this time saw the vessel a hive of activity with bags being packed, but this morning most of the senior crew had gathered just inside the Ward Room on C Deck.

Kristin Westphalen was also present and together they were listening to a very unusual event aboard; a heated argument taking place in the Captain's quarters between Nathan Bridger and Lucas Wolenczak.

The younger of the two adversary's could now be heard, "I can't believe you are being so hard-headed about this," Lucas shouted.

The Captain ran a hand down his tired face, trying to keep his temper, but he had been trying to get the teenager to listen to reason for the past 40 minutes since their disagreement began.

"I am not being hard-headed, Lucas,"

"Yes you are."

"No I am not, and I don't know why we are still having this conversation."

"We are having this _conversation _because you keep treating me like a three year old," Lucas accused. The teenager's frustrations clearly showing and he was pacing back and forth in front of the Holo-projector.

"You are not treated like a little kid, but you sure are acting like one at the moment."

Lucas flinched slightly at the remark, "But what's wrong with wanting to take one out by myself!" he demanded. "Do know how many times I have been off here in the last 3 months without somebody holding my hand?"

"I told you when you first came in here that I don't think that is such a good idea. We are only a day or so away from Pearl. Once we arrive there, I will ask Tim and arrange for him to give you some more instruction."

"I don't need more instructions, Dad. What I want is to have the same privileges as everybody else on this crate"

"And you can have them, just as soon as I am satisfied that you are capable enough to handle the launch on your own."

Bridger now used his PAL Communicator, "Commander Ford."

"Aye Sir," Jonathan responded to the Captain's hail.

Nathan looked intently at the teenager as he spoke, making sure that Lucas heard his next statement, "Commander I am giving you specific instructions that Lucas is not to be allowed unaccompanied in any SeaQuest launch without my knowledge and consent."

"Understood, Captain," Ford responded. Due to his position he was obliged to carry out the man's orders.

"God Damn it," Lucas shouted angrily, "Most kids my age have already had their driver's license for a year or two by now."

"There is a bit of difference between driving a car and operating a launch, Lucas."

"No, there is not," Lucas said, his voice now calmer, but the disappointment written all over his face. "The only difference here is that you don't trust me."

With that statement, Lucas sharply turned away from the Captain, slamming the hatch door behind him with a considerable amount of force.

The crew members in the Ward Room were looking at each other with shock. They could see both sides of the argument, Lucas had come to the Captain wanting to have permission to take a launch upworld on his own.

Bridger wasn't too keen on the idea at all, and wanted to keep the teenager safe. Lucas felt constricted by the Captain's explanation of the rules and declared that he was being treated unfairly.

Lucas stomped his way back to his cabin, unaware of the pair of eyes that watched him storm out of the Captain's quarters.

Kristin knocked briefly on Nathan's quarters, and slowly opened the door. Bridger looked up as she entered.

"Where did I go wrong on that one?" he asked, finding the whole situation unnerving.

Since Lucas had become his adopted son, their relationship had been such a close one that any idea of a confrontation hadn't crossed his mind. Until today. Bridger had tried so hard not to display such emotions in front of the young man due to his troubled past with his own parents.

The teenager was usually very reserved and gentle natured, but half an hour ago, had gone off the deep end about not being allowed to pilot a launch on his own.

Bridger could understand the teenager's desire for independence. It had taken him so long to get the boy to come to him and talk comfortably about his feelings and troubles. But the parent in him also wanted to prevent him from getting hurt. He had done such a lousy job with Robert, and was adamant that he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

Kristin tried to find the right words to say, "At this age, sometimes they don't think rationally and want to do things on their own."

"He wants to prove himself, but I am not about to let him do that by crashing a launch."

"Give him some time. He is just angry. He will cool down and then you can talk together more calmly," Kristin suggested, putting her hand on his shoulder, gently trying to massage the tension that she found.

"You think I did the wrong thing by telling him no?"

"I think you gave the right reasons, but perhaps for Lucas it is difficult for him to understand that we make these decisions in his best interests."

"Let's hope you are right," Bridger said, giving her a gentle kiss. He knew she understood better than anybody, the fragile nature of his relationship with Lucas.

"I am going to the Bridge for a while, perhaps taking my mind off it will make it go away."

"Give him some space for a couple of hours, everything will work out," she tried to assure him.

The crew in the Ward Room dispersed back to their duties, silently hoping that a compromise would be reached. Most of them were aware of how close the two were and needed each other.

Ben Krieg had approached Kristin in Med Bay a short time later, worried about Lucas and asking if he should try and talk to him instead of the Captain. But Westphalen convinced him that it wasn't necessary and that she hoped Nathan and the boy would find peace with each other soon.

Lucas had gone back to his room, and had considered the idea of just going to sleep and shutting out the world for a while. After a few moments, he soon realised that this wasn't going to happen. He was still feeling angry and hurt and needed to get away from everyone.

Without being able to use a launch he changed into a wet suit and grabbed a towel, heading towards the Moon Pool. Thankfully there was nobody else about and he slipped into the cooling water, hoping to clear his mind and relax.

At first he used the Aqua tubes to swim around the SeaQuest, enjoying the calming effect that it was hoping. Darwin soon appeared, appearing to sense the sullen mood of his young friend. Lucas finally decided to go a little further, grabbing a small scuba tank and following the mammal out through the sea doors and into the open sea.

Ensign Cooper surveyed the launch bay area, ensuring that it was deserted, and allowed him access without being noticed.

A short time ago, he had been in his cabin, receiving a secured message from the mainland. He had responded that he understood his instructions and would put the next part of his plan into effect.

His employer was specific and wanted him to frame the boy at doing something wrong, but hadn't said what form the deception should take.

Stage 1 had taken place quite by accident, as he secretly overheard the argument between the Captain and the teenager. The whole argument had been recorded by a silent microphone that he had placed when Bridger had been out of the room. His employer wanted proof and evidence for the substantial payment that he was being given.

Upon hearing the topic of the argument being about a launch, Cooper thought it presented the perfect opportunity and why he found himself hiding near the launch bay now. He had snuck into the laundry and stolen one of the teenager's baseball shirts.

Climbing down inside, he placed the shirt in plain sight and left without being seen. He quickly used the control station to set one of the launches on auto-pilot. It would take more than a few minutes for the breach the security measures to register on the Bridge.

For thirty minutes, Lucas swam with Darwin in the ocean, making sure to stick close to the SeaQuest. He had done this on a number of occasions and found it relaxing and invigorating.

Out here he could forget about everything and just swim, watch nature at its best and have fun with Darwin. The dolphin would stay by his side, not judging, not demanding that he do anything or telling him that he couldn't do anything. His friendship was unconditional.

As the water began to calm his temper and anger, Lucas thought more about the argument that he had with the Captain. He knew that Bridger's reasons for not wanting him to go out in a launch on his own. The man was worried that he would get hurt.

A little thought from the teenager and he began to understand why the Captain had been so tough on him. Maybe it was time to go in and apologize for shouting at him. If his dad was so worried, perhaps he could convince Bridger to teach him instead of O'Neill. That way they could spend some more time together, and he could show how capable he was.

With that thought, Lucas began to make his way back to the SeaQuest. He reached the Moon Pool, grabbed the towel and started drying himself off. He would change clothes and dry his hair and then go and find the Captain and apologize.

During the same half an hour that Lucas was outside with Darwin, Nathan was on the Bridge. He had tried to block out the argument but found his thoughts going back to what the teenager had said and seeing the look of his appointment.

Maybe the way around the problem was to spend some more quality time with Lucas rather than restricting him. He could teach the teenager how to operate the launch correctly.

His train of thought was interrupted by an alarm being sounded nearby. Commander Ford approaching him with a serious look on his face.

"Captain, Sir, we have a security breach."

"What sort of breach, Commander?"

Ford tried to choose his words as carefully as possible, "In the launch bay, Captain."

"Launch Bay?" Bridger said, noting Ford's uncomfortable look, but not grasping what it meant entirely.

Chief Crocker spoke in to the microphone, "Launch MR-5, you have no authorisation to leave SeaQuest. Return to the docking bay area immediately," he ordered trying to contact the unidentified party.

The security officer tried a second and third time to contact the pilot, without success.

"I am sorry, Cap, but whoever is in there doesn't want to talk," Crocker informed him.

"You don't think……..," Bridger started to say, the sentence left unfinished, but Commander Ford pre-empting what he was about to say.

"Surely he wouldn't have, Captain," Ford tried to say in Lucas's defence.

"The launch is returning," Crocker announced, watching the progress of the transport on the screen in front of him.

Nathan quickly left the Bridge with Ford quickly following behind him.

Once the launch was secure, Ford volunteered to check on the unknown pilot. Perhaps they were just jumping to conclusions. There were been a dozen people who could have been in the launch. Though he couldn't explain why it had departed SeaQuest, travelled a short distance and returned after Crocker tried to radio the pilot.

Bridger stood by, his face an iron mask at present, refusing to believe the thoughts that plagued him.

Kristin had been travelling from the Science Department on her way to the Moon Pool, when she saw the men standing in the launch area. Crocker had whispered to her about the security breach and about not being able to contact the pilot.

Kristin could only watch the mixed emotions stain Nathan's face, she too trying to convince herself that Lucas wouldn't have done something so stupid.

Ford had now emerged from the launch, "It's completely empty, Captain. The controls were set on auto-pilot, and there is no sign of damage."

But it wasn't the words Ford spoke that held Bridger's attention, but rather what was being held in his hand as he climbed back up the ladder.

Ford knew there was no other way than to show what he had found, "I found this in the cockpit."

Lucas had changed clothes and taken a shower after his swim with Darwin and was just about to sit down at his computer in his cabin, when the door burst open.

Standing before him was his dad, Doctor Westphalen and Commander Ford.

At first he was about to say something about nobody knocking, but the expression on the Captain's face made him forget what the words.

"I want an explanation, Lucas," Bridger said his voice devoid of any emotion.

"About what?" Lucas retorted too casually.

"Don't play games, Lucas. I want the truth."

Lucas found his temper quickly returning from earlier, "I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."

Bridger tried to catch the youth out with his own words about trying to take the launch, "You were outside weren't you?"

"Yeah, so!" Lucas shot back, thinking that the Captain was talking about his swim with Darwin.

"Is that all you have to say for yourself?" Bridger demanded.

"I went for a swim, is that a crime now too."

"Don't lie to me, Lucas. You took a launch."

"Took a launch……….?" the boy's face changing slightly from angered to confused.

"After I specifically told you not to."

"I didn't take any launch. I heard what you told Ford."

"This was found on the launch," Bridger said, tossing the t-shirt at the teenager.

Lucas didn't attempt to catch it, but watched it fall to the floor. "That's my shirt."

"How do you explain it being found on the stolen launch, Lucas?"

"I have no idea how it got there."

"I do……. you deliberately disobeyed me, and I very disappointed in you, Lucas."

"I didn't take any launch," Lucas declared hotly, unable to control the hurt at being accused.

Bridger's shoulders slumped a little, finding it difficult at having to be tough on the boy, "I thought we had a good understanding between us, Lucas."

"As of this moment you are confined to quarters until we reach home. You are not to leave this room under any circumstances. Your meals will be brought to you, and you have lost your computer rights."

"You wanted to be treated like any other crew member, Lucas. When we reach port, then I will decide what other disciplinary action needs to be taken," Bridger finished, preparing to leave the room.

Lucas watched as the door was closed, leaving him alone in his room. He laid down on his bed, the words of distrust echoing in his mind. He was tracing his finger along the wall of the Aqua tube, unable to stop the hurt he was feeling inside.

"I didn't anything wrong," he whispered, a single tear rolling down his face.

to be continued…………………..

Author Notes: Will be updating soon. Thoroughly enjoying writing at the moment, so the ideas are flowing. Hope you enjoyed this little snippet ……..a bit more to come yet in the next chapter as the deception continues and the relationship begins to strain to breaking point.

This whole story came about because I had the argument between Lucas and Bridger about piloting a launch on his own running through my head – I just had to find the rest of the story to match up with it.

Bridger sounds a little out of character to how I usually write him, but that should change soon enough.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

**In response to reviews:**

KatKnits00 – Thanks for your review – I plan to be writing SeaQuest for quite a while yet. I hope you will keep reading.

mayoroscommon – Yes, I have wanted to use Marilyn Stark for a while, but had to find the right story to match. I always thought her character to be vain and shallow.

criminally charmed – hold onto your hat, because it is going to get a little rougher yet before it gets better. Thanks for reading and reviewing – makes me write faster.

mariethorne – second chapter should have been up a day or two ago – but it took a little longer to write and is quite a bit longer than the first.

lovePEOPLEandCOWBOY – thanks for taking the time to review – I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

Lynnp – the plot has a few twists yet to see – keep reading – and thanks for reviewing.

Ihni – I will explain about Marilyn's reasons in the third chapter, but the plot is not as complicated as some others I have written. I should have involved the SeaQuest a little more – but haven't in this case – thanks for reading and reviewing.

Dani – I do plan to finish all my stories – and have tried to keep my profile page updated for readers as much as possible which stories I am working on – or have in the works. Some need a complete rewrite – and others need major fixing – but others I have worked out – and just need the time to write. There are quite a few planned – so please keep reading and thanks for reviewing.

Thanks for all those who read my story and enjoyed it – hope you will keep reading – drop me a line if you are liking it.

and the seed continues to grow...

Almost twenty-four hours after Bridger had restricted Lucas to his quarters for allegedly stealing a launch against specific instructions, the rumours travelling around the SeaQuest were rife.

There had been whispers between some of the senior crew about how out of character this sort of act appeared for Lucas. The Captain had heard some of the innuendos by accident, but chose to ignore them as best he could.

Bridger found that his temper had cooled significantly since yesterday, but his feelings about the deception had not. Lucas needed to be taught that what he had done was irresponsible.

At least that was what Nathan was reminding himself of right now as he stood patiently in the Launch Bay area, waiting for the transportation that would take them upworld. The crew would be on a three week break from today.

Kristin Westphalen stood along side him, noting the turmoil that was inside. She had been just as shocked as Bridger when finding out about Lucas taking the launch.

Since the argument in Lucas's cabin, she had tried to be the negotiator, attempting to talk to the teenager and find out the source of his problem. But Lucas had viewed her as just part of Bridger's attempts to smooth things over between them.

Lucas had not been prepared to do that yet.

Meals had indeed been brought to the boy as instructed by Bridger, but all but one had been returned to the galley uneaten. The boy had drank the juice and coffee for breakfast this morning, but nothing more.

Ben Krieg had become increasingly worried about the teenager's attitude, going so far as to voice his opinion to the Captain last night. Lucas had refused to allow anyone to enter his cabin and had ignored any attempts for him to tell someone his side of the story.

Nathan appreciated the Lieutenant's concern, but had been adamant that his restrictions were to be adhered to. This morning, Bridger allowed Ben to be the one to bring Lucas and his bags to the launch.

This was who they were waiting for now in the Launch Bay.

_a little earlier:_

Ben Krieg stood outside the door, surveying the two silver meal trays that were still in the same place he had put them the day before. One had been lunch, and the other, dinner, but Lucas had not accepted either of them.

He had never seen the Captain and the teenager react so badly to one another. In the last day and a half, tensions had been frayed and angry words shouted. Accusations had been made and denied, leaving an uneasy atmosphere between them.

Krieg took a deep breath, and proceeded to knock on the door of the small cabin in Mammal Engineering. His first raps going unanswered.

"Lucas, I know you are in there."

No reply.

"I can stand here all day if you like, but I have orders from the Captain to escort you to the launch. I don't like this anymore than you buddy, but you got to come now."

Ben tried the handle of the door, figuring it was going to be locked, but was surprised to hear the distinct click of the hatch releasing.

When he looked inside, Lucas was sitting on his bed, two bags on the floor nearby. One had been haphazardly thrown together and the tail of a shirt could be seen protruding from one end of the bag containing clothes. The second bag contained the boy's laptop computer, and looked to have been packed with a little more care.

The teenager was looking at the floor, barely acknowledging his friends' presence in the room. Krieg walked over and kneeled in front of him, seeing that Lucas appeared to be upset.

Lucas didn't comment but lifted his head to face his friend, there were no tears, but the pain of losing Bridger's trust was still clearly evident. Ben noted that the youth hadn't slept very much and his face looked a little drawn and pale.

"Hey, I know it all looks bad now, but I am sure everything will work out," he said softly.

Lucas stood up and began carrying his laptop bag to the door, resigning himself to whatever fate the Captain had ordered for this morning. Ben had grabbed his second bag and was following behind him.

The Lieutenant had wanted to lighten the teenager's mood, but his next statement couldn't have come out more wrong, "Next time you decide to try and ditch this place, come get me."

Lucas had stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing the casual remark, and he spun around to face his friend, staring coldly back at him. The teenager had taken Ben's words as another accusation that he had stolen the launch.

"Lucas, I didn't……………..," Ben tried to apologize.

The boy refused to listen to anything further, leaving the room with renewed anger, not bothering to wait for an explanation.

"Great, now he is not talking to me either," Krieg admonished, making his way to the Launch Bay.

Those few still standing outside of the launch, now watched as a very unhappy teenager stomped his way to the hatch way and descended into the transport.

He didn't acknowledge the doctor or the Captain. Bridger sighed heavily, realising that nothing had changed and Lucas was still being unco-operative.

Krieg appeared a few moments later, noting the look that he was getting from the Captain, "I sort of put my foot in it, Sir."

Nathan nodded his head in acknowledgement, wondering how they were going to get through the impasse with the teenager.

There was a small seat at the rear of the launch and that was the first place that Lucas chose to sit. It wasn't as far away as he would have liked to have been from them all this morning, but it would have to do until they reached the mainland.

The majority of those onboard were sitting within speaking distance of each other. The seats were designed for five people on each side. Nathan sat on the right, next to the cockpit. Kristin sat facing him on the left hand side.

Lucas pulled out a pair of headphones and put them over his ears. He rummaged around his bag for a disc to play, eventually finding one right at the bottom. He closed the portable stereo, but could sense the eyes upon him from a few feet away.

The teenager looked back at the group, and the Captain in particular. His face was almost a mask of stone, his blue eyes appearing darker with the anger he was feeling. His body language spoke volumes to Kristin, his shoulders and neck muscles tense.

Lucas made sure that Bridger was watching every move he made, turning the dial on the small electronic player to very high. He pressed the play button and reclined back against the headrest of the seat, closing his eyes but having no intentions of going to sleep.

It was a clear act of defiance on his part, determined to protest against the wrong they were doing.

Security Chief Crocker whispered to O'Neill, "Boy, I wouldn't want to be in the Captain's shoes right now."

Tim nodded, "He's almost daring the Captain to say something."

Kristin and Bridger could hear the volume of the player from where they were sitting. Although Lucas usually listened to his music very loudly, today it was clear that he was using it as a way of shutting them out and ignoring them.

"He's giving you the silent treatment, Sir," Krieg commented. "Big time."

Bridger nodded, "Yes, I think he is."

"I think I can remember doing it once with my father," Miguel piped in.

"Oh yeah how long did that last for Ortiz?" Ben asked.

"Only about four hours, because it was after school. I was sent to my room, but by dinner time I was hungry," Miguel said sheepishly.

O'Neill and Ben laughed at the short story.

"Cynthia used to do it too," Kristin said, trying to ease Nathan's mind. "She was almost as strong willed as Lucas is showing now if she wanted her own way."

"How long?" Nathan asked, both out of worry and guilt.

Kristin hesitated for a few moments before answering, "Two weeks," she finally whispered.

Bridger rolled his eyes at her reply, slumping slightly in his chair as he realised that his was going to be a long battle of wits between him and Lucas.

For the remainder of the short trip, Nathan's thoughts were on the arguments between himself and Lucas and what had taken place back on SeaQuest.

It was so out of character for Lucas to behave as he had. Sure, the teenager and Krieg would get into the occasional mischief. But what he had done went beyond anything funny. It had been reckless and careless and he could have been hurt.

Bridger watched the teenager as the music continued to blare out from the headphones. Lucas usually didn't display any signs of a temper. There were times when he was irritable and crabby from not enough sleep, or something going working correctly with one of his projects. But most of that was just typical teenage behaviour and the crew had learned to just leave him alone at those times.

If anything, Lucas was usually the calm one amongst the crew, having heaps of patience and understanding towards others. Bridger just didn't get what was causing this complete change in the boy's personality.

What was bothering him so much that he felt like he had to lie to them about the launch?

With three weeks of vacation time, the Captain could only hope that the silent treatment would end long enough for them to talk calmly to one another.

Bridger had ideas of allowing all other crew members to exit the launch first, and hopefully be able to pull the disgruntled teenager aside briefly to talk to him on his own. But that idea was quickly thwarted when the launch came to a stop.

Ben wanted to make amends for his mis-aimed comment, and tried to take one of Lucas's bags as a peace offering. Instead, they were all left in his wake as the teenager snatched up his two bags and left the launch first without so much as a word.

Kristin tried her best to give Nathan moral support, but she too could see a difficult road ahead for the immediate future.

"This is going to be a long three weeks," Bridger commented as he left the launch.

The plans for the rest of the day were fairly relaxed. The ferry that would take Kristin, Bridger and Lucas back to their island retreat wouldn't be ready to leave until 5.00pm.

Some of the crew had plans to depart the UEO base and head off to their own families, but transport schedules saw most of the senior crew remaining for the next 24-48 hours.

There were temporary accommodations at the base that were more than adequate for the time they would need to stay. Commander Ford was planning to take some extra training courses during his leave instead of going home.

The accommodation building was huge, five storeys, but not very hotel looking from the outside. Once they walked inside, the environment changed a little, as they took the elevator to the second floor.

Bridger, the doctor and Lucas would be sharing a room. It had two separate bedrooms, a double and a single, plus a small living area and kitchenette.

Miguel Ortiz was sharing a room with Tim O'Neill and Krieg. Commander Ford had a room to himself. Katie Hitchcock had already left the base to see her family.

Lucas was still giving everyone the silent treatment as the Captain opened the door to their temporary accommodation. The teenager headed straight for the single room, closing the door behind him. Once inside, he tossed the bags into one corner of the room and sat down on the bed.

He ran a hand through his tangled blond hair, and sighed heavily. Although he was determined for them to see how unhappy he was, the tension and frustration that he felt was taking its toll.

On the other side of the door, Nathan found himself trying to figure out how to approach the next battle. He still hadn't come up with a suitable punishment for Lucas yet, but wanted to lay down the ground rules to the teenager for the few hours until the ferry was ready to take them back to the island.

Once back on the island, perhaps the teenager would relax a little more, and open up. He put his hand on the door knob, but knocked first, waiting to see if he would be invited into the room.

"Knock, knock," he then said, as he rapped on the door. But there was no response.

Bridger looked back at Kristin for a sign that it was okay just to go in, but saw in her expression that she wasn't sure this was the best idea.

"Take it slow," she urged.

Cautiously he opened the door, wondering what the teenager's frame of mind was, but was greeted by the youth sitting on the bed in the back corner of the room.

Lucas looked up as the two adults entered, he had heard the knock on the door, but had no intentions of answering it.

Bridger noted the scowl on the boy's face and guessed that the teenager was still deliberately ignoring any kind of conversation or understanding between them.

Lucas's expression changed from a scowl to one of _I dare you. _

"Are you going to stop this stupidity and talk to me?" Bridger asked with annoyance in his voice.

Inwardly Lucas wanted to scream 'NO!' at him with every fibre he had, but instead, he flopped down on the bed, altering his position and turning his back to them both, turning away and facing the wall.

Bridger was shocked and saddened as the open defiance continued. He too was tired, and wasn't about to play mind games. "I don't care if you don't want to talk to me, Lucas. But you are going to listen."

"Our ferry doesn't leave until this afternoon. Until then you can stay here. There is an officer's mess hall down on the first floor to get food or a drink. You are to remain in this building."

It was clear that Lucas wasn't going to acknowledge that he had heard the Captain's restrictions. Kristin and Nathan stepped back out of the doorway, preparing to leave.

"I will be out here if you need me," Bridger said in a softer tone, closing the door.

Bridger had Kristin had both jumped at the sound of something heavy striking the back of the door a few moments later.

The teenager heard the door close and in a burst of anger, with his emotions all mixed up, he picked up a heavy book that lay on the bedside table and threw it at the door.

"I am going to take a walk," Bridger told Kristin. "I need to think for a while." Kristin nodded, but didn't offer to accompany him, seeing that Nathan was just as upset as Lucas was. He needed space.

Bridger grabbed his jacket and walked out of the room. As walked down the hallway towards the elevator, he could see the concerned looks from Ben Krieg and Miguel as he watched from the own rooms.

"Keep an eye on them for me," he said to Ben, as the doors of the lift closed.

Ben had approached Kristin, seeing that the doctor was worried about the both of them.

Miguel, Tim and Ben decided that the doctor needed some company herself, and shared a cup of coffee with Kristin in her room. There wasn't a great deal to talk about, all of them trying to figure out how to fix the fragile relationship between Lucas and Bridger before it was too late.

About forty minutes after Nathan had left, Kristin's concern for Lucas was becoming too strong. She needed to check on him. He hadn't made any attempt to leave the room, not even for a drink of water.

Ben and the others watched her approach the closed door, but didn't want to put any further stress on either Kristin or Lucas by entering the room with her.

Kristin knocked on the door, but wasn't surprised when it went unanswered once more. She turned the handle, but paused a moment, waiting to see if the movement of the door would invoke any further objects being thrown.

As she entered the room, Lucas was in the same position he had been earlier, with his back turned towards her.

"Lucas," she said quietly, hoping that the teenager would at least face her.

She didn't want to confront him in anger only to have him shut himself away more.

Kristin walked over to the bed and around the other side, sighing slightly in relief when she saw the reason for him not answering. Lucas was asleep, his battle of wills from earlier in the day and his lack of sleep from overnight had eventually won out.

The doctor reached down silently and brushed a stray lock of hair from his forehead. The teenager didn't show any sign of waking, his features smoothed out in slumber. The two people that mattered most in her life were apart, both of them hurting so much when they both needed each other very badly.

Kristin left the room quietly, informing Ben and the others in the living room that Lucas was sleeping.

Ben was relieved too, the normal comical man worried about his teenage friend. "Poor kid thinks that we are the bad guys. It shouldn't have to be this way."

Miguel and Tim didn't think their presence was helping matters at all, but decided to at least help Kristin if they could.

"Doc, its lunchtime, maybe we can go and get something to eat together. We might be able to think this out between us," Ortiz suggested.

Kristin was about to decline the invitation when Ben spoke, "We could bring back something for Lucas," he commented, knowing that the kid hadn't eaten very much.

"We won't be gone long. Captain Bridger might come back before then or we might meet up with him on the way to the mess," Tim said, trying to relay Kristin's concern of leaving Lucas alone.

Kristin could see the worry on Ben's face and although she didn't like the idea of leaving the room, perhaps a meal would all see them in a better frame of mind.

And yes, she was pleased that somebody else was thinking of Lucas's health too. She would be very happy to bring lunch back for the teenager.

Ben and the other crew members reached the first floor and were about to head towards the Officer's Mess Hall when they saw Nathan walking towards them.

"I thought you were taking a walk," Kristin quizzed.

"I was, but then I ran into Jonathan," Bridger began explaining. "He has headed back to the boat. They are short-handed and he offered to help supervise the stores and equipment that need unloading."

"Does he need a hand, Captain?" Miguel offered.

"Not at the moment, but he said he will keep me informed."

Bridger looked at the group and could see someone absent, "Where's Lucas?"

Ben, Tim and Miguel allowed Kristin to answer, "We left him in the room."

"Is he okay?"

"He is still angry and refusing to talk to anyone, but he was sleeping when I left.

He looked a little tired in the launch this morning," Kristin replied. "We were headed down for lunch. I will take something back for him."

"Care to join us, Sir," Tim invited.

"Thank you, Tim, that doesn't sound like a bad idea," he replied, not really interested in food, but perhaps spending time with his crew would take his mind off the troubles he was having with Lucas.

Bridger had left the room wanting to think by himself, but so far that hadn't happened and he wasn't trying to fool anybody that he had the right answers at the moment.

The group made their way to the Officer's Mess Hall, and choose a table big enough to accommodate them all. Tim and Miguel went to the buffet table and grabbed some lunch, but the other three did not.

Nathan went to the bar and got a round of drinks, saying a casual hello to the bartender before returning to the table.

For the next thirty minutes, between them, very few words were exchanged. The problems surrounding the Captain and Lucas were affecting them all.

Back upstairs, Lucas was beginning to stir from his short nap. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but had been so mad at the Captain that he had drifted off without realising.

He sat up and stretched his muscles and rubbed at his eyes with the palms of his hands. The sleep hadn't been long enough yet.

Lucas tried to hear anything going on in the other room, automatically assuming that someone would be there. He frowned a little when all he could hear was silence.

Walking to the door, he took a deep breath before placing his hand on the door handle. He spotted the book he had pegged earlier, and picked it up as he opened the door and stepped into the living room.

He placed the book on a nearby coffee table, genuinely surprised to find no-one about. A little odd, but in hindsight pleased that he didn't have to face anyone just yet.

The teenager went to the small refrigerator in the kitchenette, but found only a cold jug of water. He poured a glass, expecting to hear someone at any moment, but he didn't.

'I wonder where they went,' he said to himself.

For a few minutes, Lucas flopped onto the couch and began flicking channels of the television. There wasn't anything of interest playing, no games to play. It didn't take long for him to toss the remote aside through boredom.

Making the decision to go somewhere else and kill some time before they were due to leave on the ferry, Lucas began heading out the front door. He paused slightly and wondering if he should leave any kind of note, but his anger was still simmering away.

"I am not sitting around here all day," Lucas told himself, briefly heading into his bedroom and grabbing his wallet out of one bag. "They probably won't even know that I am gone."

The teenager locked the front door behind him, but instead of heading towards the elevators where they had come through, walked down the corridor in the opposite direction.

The corridor lead to an external doorway and an internal set of stairs. He went down the stairs and found himself on the first floor. He was about to head outside, but something made him head towards the Officer's Mess Hall.

About the same time that Lucas had been closing the front door to the accommodation, Bridger and the other crew members were heading back to the elevators and the second floor. Kristin carried a covered tray, the lunch she had promised to bring Lucas.

Bridger was trying to figure out how to get Lucas to come out of his sullen mood and begin talking again once they got back to the room. He didn't want to leave the uneasiness between them until the ferry that afternoon.

Lucas ambled into the mess hall, relieved to find it virtually empty. He wasn't interested in food yet, but instead sat himself at a small table near to the bar.

He gave the bartender a quick glance and tried to smile, but then slouched in the chair a little more, and found the coasters more interesting.

The bartender did take notice of the youth sitting at the table. He had met Captain Bridger on several occasions, and knew that the teenager was part of the close knit crew of the SeaQuest.

He frowned slightly at seeing Lucas sitting on his own. Some of the crew had been in just a few minutes earlier. The kid didn't look too happy about something, but he wasn't about to pry just yet.

"Hey Lucas," a voice came from behind him.

Lucas turned and saw Ensign Cooper approaching, "Hi," he muttered, not really very charitable at the moment.

"Aw, come on Lucas, cheer up, it's the end of the tour and all," Cooper said enthusiastically. "Let me get you a beer."

Lucas was about to protest that he didn't want anything except for him to go away, but the bartender spoke on his behalf as Cooper went to buy drinks.

"You are not buying him alcohol," the man said sternly.

Cooper knew that he had to keep up the charade a little while longer, "No beer, oh well, that's no fun. Sorry Lucas, guess it will just have to be a lemonade for you."

Lucas had absolutely no idea why this guy was even talking to him. Back on SeaQuest, Cooper hadn't given him the time of day. But with his thoughts elsewhere, he didn't notice the warning signs.

Neither did the bartender as he placed a beer and a lemonade in front of Cooper, taking his money and turning his back to put it in the register.

Whilst the bartender's back was turned, Cooper watched carefully that the teenager wasn't taking notice of what he was doing. Silently he allowed a small clear vial of liquid to fall from its concealment into the palm of his hand.

The liquid was colourless and odourless so he didn't have to wait for it to dissolve into the lemonade. The next stage of his deception had begun.

"Here you go, Lucas," Cooper announced, openly thanking the bartender and bringing the drinks to the small table.

Lucas didn't really want the man there, but didn't want to be totally obnoxious and yell at the guy. "Thanks," he said taking the lemonade and sipping at it.

"So what are your plans for the next couple of weeks, kid," Cooper asked, drumming up idle conversation, but keeping an eye on the contents of the glass.

Lucas drank a little more before setting the drink on the table, he wasn't feeling very sociable at all and decided it was best to tell Cooper now, "Look, I am sorry and I don't mean to be rude, but I don't really want any company right now."

"Hey, touchy," Cooper said in mock surprise, but the bartender had been watching the situation and could see that the teenager didn't want the man's friendship gesture.

"Leave the kid alone," the bartender warned Cooper.

"Don't worry I am going," Cooper replied, walking off towards the rear entrance.

"See you around Lucas."

Lucas raised his hand, knowing that he hadn't handled that very well. The guy wasn't doing anything wrong. He better start heading back to the room anyhow before Bridger had the UEO Security team on his tail.

"You okay, son?" the bartender asked concerned, watching the teenager get up from the table and take one final drink from the lemonade. He had only managed to drink half of it.

"Yeah, I am fine," Lucas muttered and walked out the same entrance that Cooper had used a few minutes earlier.

Bridger opened the door for Kristin and allowed her to enter first. Ben and the others had gone to their own room, knowing that the Captain and the doctor needed to spend some time with Lucas.

Kristin set the tray on the coffee table, but frowned a little when she saw the door to the single bedroom opened.

"Maybe he has calmed down a little from the sleep," she told herself, walking into the room, expecting to find him inside.

"He's not in here," Kristin said in surprise to Nathan.

The Captain took a few steps to the kitchenette area, but didn't see him there either. The bathroom door was open, so he wasn't taking a shower or anything.

Bridger rubbed a hand over his forehead, thinking that the problems they were facing had just increased a notch or two.

Kristin walked to the door and into the corridor, knocking at the apartment opposite them where Krieg was staying, "Ben are you in there?"

Krieg opened the door wearing his traditional red t-shirt from Florida. He had just changed and was surprised to see the doctor at his door.

"Lucas isn't with you is he?" she asked hopefully.

"Here?" Ben questioned, "I thought he was asleep?"

"We came back to the room and he isn't there," Bridger informed him.

Ben sighed heavily, thinking that this day just wasn't getting any better.

Miguel and Tim had heard the conversation also.

"Surely he wouldn't have just left," Kristin said cautiously. "Maybe he went downstairs to find us."

Nathan nodded, hoping it was a plausible explanation for the teenager's absence. He had told Lucas that he was restricted to the building. But he could also see the expression on Kristin's face.

"Let's go see," Bridger said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. He knew that Lucas's mood was affecting her just as much as him at the moment.

"Miguel, you and Tim stay here please in case he comes back," Kristin suggested.

They both nodded their heads in agreement.

Ben followed Kristin and Bridger to the elevators, and then downstairs to the first floor. Bridger had quickly ducked his head in the mess hall, thinking that Lucas might have gone downstairs for some food.

He was disappointed that the teenager wasn't anywhere to be seen. He was beginning to become worried, but at the same time, concerned that Lucas might have deliberately chosen to ignore his instructions again about remaining in the building.

"Maybe he headed back to the SeaQuest," Ben suggested.

Although they had travelled by launch this morning, by now, the SeaQuest would be berthed and getting unloaded. Commander Ford had returned to the vessel to help unload.

There wasn't a great deal of distance from where they were now to the SeaQuest, walking would take no longer than 20 minutes. Lucas could have gone there while they were at lunch, trying to find Darwin.

"I doubt it," Bridger stated, "But I guess it's a place to start looking," he added, beginning to feel that the situation with Lucas was getting more difficult by the minute.

The trio now exited the UEO building and walked along the grassy lawns following the path that Lucas would have needed to take back to the SeaQuest.

Lucas had left the Officer's mess hall a few minutes ago, and was now at the back of the building. He had become a little confused with the stairs and was outside in the back alley.

The teenager was unaware that he was silently being followed.

"Why do I feel so awful all of a sudden?" he asked himself, pausing for a moment and putting a hand over his stomach. The nausea seemed out of place, he had only had lemonade.

He walked a few more paces, but had to stop again. Now his head was beginning to feel dizzy. He used his arm to support himself against the external wall of the building.

Up until this point, he had been grateful for the lack of people about, thankful that he couldn't embarrass himself. But now, he was beginning to doubt that he would be able to make it back to the room under his own steam. He took another couple of small steps forward, hoping that Kristin would be able to tell what was wrong with him.

Leaning heavily on his arm, Lucas tried to shake his head from side to side to clear the fog that threatened to descend on him. But the action seemed to do no more than to make the dizziness worse.

Lucas tried to swallow, but his throat felt dry and his tongue thick.

"H-help," he tried to call out, stumbling a few more feet.

The sick teenager swayed on his feet, the arm he had been using for support on the wall folded underneath him and he lost his footing, tumbling to the dirt covered ground.

Lucas tried to lift his head again, thinking that he could hear footsteps approaching. Someone might be there to help him. It felt like they were pulling his hair.

Looking through bleary eyes, Lucas could see someone peering into his face, and For a brief second he thought he recognized the person, but he couldn't be sure as his thoughts were drowned in blackness and he passed out.

Cooper slapped at the kid's face a couple of times, making sure that he was really out. Lucas didn't respond and his body was lax and remained limp. Perfect, it would make the rest of his task a whole lot easier.

Cooper looked around nervously, making sure that nobody had seen the teenager collapse. The shadows of the alley worked in his favour as he gripped the unconscious youth under the arms and dragged him behind a large industrial rubbish bin, his blond head lolling to the side.

Lucas was now laying on his left side and showed no signs of waking, and unaware of what his captor intended to do. The man searched the boy's pockets and found his wallet. He tucked it away in his own jacket, knowing it would contain his UEO identification card and other important information.

Cooper pulled out a bottle of cheap alcohol he had bought earlier, not noticing the empty drug vial falling out onto the ground nearby. Unscrewing the lid, he began pouring the contents of the bottle over the teenager's upper body. The shirt Lucas was wearing quickly became soaked in the liquid.

The man had emptied about half of the contents of the alcohol over his prone victim, not bothering to recap it and tossing it a short distance away. The glass bottle shattered on the hard surface and the remaining liquid pooled around the shards of glass.

Cooper looked down the alley once more, making sure that even if someone did walk down the alley, they wouldn't see the unconscious teenager. He needed some time to get back to the SeaQuest and send a message to Stark and tell her that Stage 2 of her plans had been carried out.

There was to be a Stage 3, but he was told he would have to wait further instructions. Stark had assured him that she could fix some of the '_indiscretions' _that appeared on his UEO record.

As long as Stark kept the money coming, then he would do what she asked. The kid hadn't been hurt much, just subdued for a few hours.

Making sure he wasn't seen, Cooper began walking out of the alleyway, headed back to the SeaQuest. He hoped that nobody went looking for the boy straight away. The drug should keep him unconscious for an hour or so, plenty of time for him to make his get away.

Back at the SeaQuest, Commander Ford looked up from the clipboard in front of him, see three concerned people approaching.

"Captain," Ford saluted, "Doctor, Lieutenant," he greeted them.

"Commander, have you seen Lucas?" Bridger asked.

"No, Sir. I thought he left with you on the launch this morning?"

"He did, but we just went back to our room a short time ago after lunch, and he wasn't where I told him to be."

"We think he might have been just been still pretty mad at us, and took off to get out of the place," Krieg interjected.

"Sorry, Captain, I have been here in the docking bay area for the past hour or so and I haven't seen Lucas come aboard."

"Perhaps he is here, just hiding in his room, or some place quiet," Kristin suggested, but knowing that it probably wasn't the case.

"Let's take a quick look, and then head back to the base," Bridger instructed.

"I hope he hasn't done anything stupid," he added with worry beginning to creep in his voice.

The four crew members split up, and covered various areas of the SeaQuest that Lucas was known to frequent. His quarters first, then the Captains, the science labs, moon pool and the Bridge.

Ben Krieg had just been coming off the Bridge, disappointed to find it empty, when he came across Ensign Cooper. The Lieutenant thought that most crew members had already left, except for Commander Ford.

"How is it going, Cooper?" Krieg asked in his usual cheerful way.

Cooper's reaction was a little odd though, the man had almost jumped out of his skin at seeing Ben.

"Fine, Krieg," came the short response. "What are you doing back here?" he added, already suspecting that they were looking for the missing teenager.

"You haven't seen Lucas, have you?"

Cooper swallowed the ball of nervousness that he was feeling, "No, Sir, I haven't.

Isn't he supposed to be with Captain Bridger?" he replied, feigning interest.

"Yeah, that's what we thought too," Krieg answered.

"Well if you will excuse me, Ben, have to go," Cooper said quickly and headed off down the corridor before Krieg could talk to him any further.

The Lieutenant watched him leave, but somewhere in the back of his head, he was thinking that he was acting strange.

Kristin and Bridger were coming down the corridor, their searches for Lucas proving to be equally as fruitless.

"Did you find him, Ben?" Kristin hoped.

"No, Kristin, I didn't. I couldn't find him anywhere. I don't think he returned to the boat at all, Captain," Ben said, voicing his opinion.

"What do we do now?" Kristin asked, her concern for Lucas mounting as time passed.

Bridger spoke first, "Let's go back to the rooms and get Miguel and Tim, and start an organized search back at the base."

The trio walked back to the docking bay and met up with Ford once more, "Jonathan we are heading back to the base to try and find Lucas. If you see him or he comes back here, please let me know."

"Will do, Sir," Ford acknowledged. The dark-skinned Commander couldn't help but think the last couple of days were totally out of character for their teenage friend.

The twenty minute walk back to the base from SeaQuest, took Ben, Kristin and

Bridger less than fifteen minutes as they tried to figure out where the distressed boy might have gone.

"Miguel, Tim," Ben called out as he entered the room he was sharing with them.

"Lucas didn't come back here, Captain," O'Neill said, seeing the question already on everyone's face.

"Okay, let's be calm about this for a minute. I know we are all worried, but we need to work together," Bridger advocated.

"Jonathan is keeping watch at SeaQuest for us. Let's start downstairs and work our way from there. Somebody must have seen him around in the past couple of hours," Bridger commented.

The shadows in the alleyway behind the Officer's Mess Hall were now growing longer as the afternoon wore on. It had been approximately thirty-five minutes since Lucas had been seen by the bartender.

Behind the disused industrial bin, Lucas began to stir and show signs of waking. At first he didn't open his eyes, but rather just rolled onto his back, his brain still foggy. The residual effects of the drug were still present.

He tried to swallow and find his voice, but his throat felt dry and restricted.

_What the hell happened_ Lucas thought to himself as he tried to remember how he found himself to be on the ground. The surface beneath him was hard.

His eyes fluttered open, but when he looked up, all he could see was the awning of the building. Turning his head slightly to the right, he noticed the large metal surface of the garbage bin.

Lucas closed his eyes again, trying to concentrate and remember where he was. There was a strange smell present, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. His legs felt like jelly and his arms heavy and uncoordinated.

The disorientated teenager pulled himself into a sitting position, but almost fell backwards again at the dizziness that reappeared. He could remember being dizzy earlier, but he had no way of knowing how much time had passed.

Rubbing at his face, brushing the hair out of his eyes, he tried to stand up. Unfortunately it was a bad idea, as the nausea returned and he found himself quickly stumbling on all fours and retching the contents of his stomach behind the bin.

After the bout of sickness, he waited until his lungs were able to draw enough breath into them. Shakily he pulled himself up to his knees, waiting for the dizziness to abate a little more.

The nausea was still present, but not as strong. Finally he pulled himself to his feet, waiting again until the dizziness became more bearable before trying to take a step.

Maybe he had just fainted he tried to convince himself. He hadn't eaten very much since the Captain had restricted him to his quarters on SeaQuest. The only thing he remembered having today was the lemonade and that would hardly make him as sick as he was feeling right now.

Lucas concentrated his efforts now on putting a few steps together so he could make his way back to his room. Kristin might have something to settle his upset stomach. He didn't have any headache but he was unsteady and finding it difficult to gain his bearings.

He couldn't see anybody about to call out for help to. Hopefully he could reach his bed in time and just lie down for a while. Being horizontal was much more appealing at the moment as he rubbed at his upset stomach, trying to quell the nausea.

It seemed like he had been walking for a long time he finally reached the top of the stairs and the corridor where his room was. He was still using his outstretched arm on the wall as support and had the other wrapped around his stomach area. He felt dreadful.

Lucas gave a silent prayer of thanks when he opened the door and stepped inside the room. He went to the single bedroom and reached into his jeans to pull out his wallet before lying down.

His mind was still confused and he frowned slightly when he couldn't find it. Inwardly he was cursing himself that he might have dropped it back downstairs when he had fallen, but he had no energy to retrace his steps now.

Sighing, he began tugging off the shirt he was wearing. It smelt foul, but his mind wasn't alert enough to tell him why. Lucas now sat down gingerly on the edge of the bed, convinced that he was going to be sick again any moment.

Bridger and his crew were all still together when they went into the Officer's Mess Hall. With the afternoon drawing to a close, there wouldn't be a lot of people about for another hour or so.

They had tried to talk to the few people they did see and ask them if they had seen the missing teenager, but all had shaken their heads negatively or told that they hadn't seen the boy.

"How are you Captain," the bartender greeted them. "I didn't think I would see you or your people back in here so soon."

"Sorry, but I didn't come to chat. We are looking for our young crew member.

He hasn't been seen by anybody and we are trying to find him," Bridger explained.

"You mean the young blond-haired fellow?"

"Yes have you seen him?" Kristin asked hurriedly.

"Lucas isn't it?" the bartender recalled the name. "He was in here about an hour ago," seeing that these people seemed generally worried about his whereabouts.

"Did he say anything about going somewhere?" Ben enquired.

"No, sorry. The kid looked pretty upset about something from what I saw." Nathan nodded his head, indicating to the man that his assessment of Lucas's mood was correct.

"He was sitting there on his own at that little table," the bartender said, pointing to the table a short distance away. He had already removed the glass of lemonade.

"Then that other fellow came up and started bugging him," the man continued.

"Other fellow?" Miguel prompted.

"Yeah, he was wearing a UEO uniform, can't remember what his name is. He came in and was trying to talk to the boy. He walked up to me here at the bar and wanted to order the kid a beer."

Kristin and Nathan's attention was quickly drawn to such a statement. Lucas was too young to be drinking and at this time of the day.

"Don't worry folks, I wouldn't give him the beer. The kid didn't seem to want his company anyway. This fellow bought a lemonade and took it over to the table, but Lucas only drank half of it."

"Lucas told the other guy to rack off, and he got up and left. I did ask him if he was alright," the bartender said, trying to relay any fears that the group had about his welfare.

"Thanks, you have been most helpful," Bridger said as he tried to piece together the events that had taken place. None of it seemed to help find where Lucas was now.

"Did you see where he went to?" Kristin questioned. "We must have just missed him when we checked in here before," she said to the crew standing with her.

"No, sorry ma'am, I just assumed that he was headed back to where he was supposed to be," the man replied.

Bridger and the group were almost at the door when the bartender recalled the man's name that had bought Lucas the drink earlier.

"Cooper," he announced across the room. "That was the name of the guy that was bugging Lucas."

"Cooper!" Krieg declared, having recalled the conversation with the man at the SeaQuest.

"Something wrong, Ben?" Bridger asked, seeing the Lieutenant's concern increase.

"I ran into Cooper back at the SeaQuest. I asked him if he had seen Lucas. He told he hadn't seen the kid."

Bridger and Kristin looked at each other, their own concern turning into worry.

"Why would he have lied?" Tim O'Neill asked out loud.

"I don't know, but let's go see if we catch up with him," Bridger said, determined to find out why the man had not been truthful.

"I need to go back to our room for a moment," Kristin informed Nathan.

"Yeah, us too, Captain. Just for a few minutes and we can work out where else to look for Lucas," Ortiz suggested.

Bridger nodded his consent of the plan and they all headed back towards the elevators that would take them to the second floor.

Lucas had heard the lock on the front door to their room turned, and almost cried out loud in relief that it might be the Captain and Kristin returning.

He wanted Kristin to give him something and tell him what was wrong. The nausea was still present, and he had almost thrown up twice since coming back to the room.

Bridger and Kristin were just as surprised when they walked into the living room and then looked into the single room. Both of them gasped in surprise seeing Lucas sitting on the bed.

"Lucas!" Bridger said, relaxing a little at finding the teenager safe.

Ben, Tim and Miguel had heard the Captain call the teenager's name and were grateful that he had been found. They came inside to the living room, but didn't intrude on the single bedroom.

"Oh Lucas we were so worried when we couldn't find you. We have been looking for you for over an hour," Kristin exclaimed.

Lucas made a feeble effort to stand, but when he failed and had to try a second time, Bridger and Kristin both looked at him with concern.

"Are you alright?" Bridger asked, but then he could smell the distinct odour of alcohol in the room. He could see how unsteady the teenager was on his feet, and couldn't help but draw one conclusion.

Kristin was looking at Lucas from a medical point of view, gauging his slight sway and his dishevelled look. There was a greyish pallor to his face. She also smelt the alcohol in the room and gasped out loud at the answer she too was coming too.

Lucas began speaking before them, "I don't know," he said shakily. "I went downstairs to meet up with you. I couldn't find anybody and after that, everything is a bit of a mystery."

"Lucas you have been drinking," Bridger said his voice becoming serious.

"W-what, no I haven't," the boy stammered in his own defence. He wasn't clear about what had happened, but he knew he hadn't been drinking any alcohol.

Bridger took a step forward, eyeing the shirt on the bed and identifying it as the source of the smell. The smell was very strong, the fabric reeking.

"Surely you don't expect us to believe that, Lucas!" Kristin said, her hands folded in front of her chest in a no-nonsense stance.

"Look, I told you, I don't remember what happened. That's why I was waiting to see you," he said, his temper returning as the accusations were being hurled at him once more.

Ben and the others remained silent, and could hear Lucas's denial of having drunk any alcohol. The bartender downstairs seemed to back up his story, but they could smell the alcohol in the next room as well as.

"I couldn't find you, and was heading back here, but got real dizzy and must have passed out or something," Lucas continued his version of events as best he could.

"I woke up, my stomach was hurting and threw up and then headed back here to see if you could tell me what it wrong with me."

"I'll tell you what is wrong with you, Lucas," Bridger said loudly. "You got plastered. I don't know where or how you got the alcohol in such a short pace of time. But you're drunk. That's why you threw up and why you can't remember anything."

"I haven't been drinking," Lucas shouted, forgetting about how his body was feeling for a few moments. "My wallet is missing too. I must have lost it somewhere downstairs."

"Oh please, Lucas, don't insult my intelligence. We come in here and you can barely stand on your feet. You already admitted you were throwing up and your shirt smells like a brewery. I have been drunk a few times myself you know."

"Lucas drinking to excess isn't going to make these problems between us go away," Kristin stated firmly, appalled that the teenager had taken such drastic measures to show how unfairly he had been treated.

"What are you trying to tell us, Lucas?" Bridger asked in frustration. "Do you need more time away from SeaQuest, is that it?"

Lucas's expression changed to one of stunned, hearing such a statement from the Captain. "If you want me gone from SeaQuest, _Captain, _all you have to do is tell me," he said in a low voice, barely able to contain the hurt that he felt.

"Well if that's not it, Lucas, then please enlighten me. Because I sure the hell don't know what is going on with you the past couple of days. You wilfully defy my orders not to take a launch. And now you stand here in front of me and Kristin and lie to our faces about being drinking."

"I am only going to say this one more time," Lucas said forcefully, taking a step towards Bridger and shouting angrily in his face, "I AM NOT DRUNK."

Without realising it, Bridger had lost his own temper and raised his hand as if to strike the youth across the face.

It was that moment, that Nathan would regret for a very long time. For whatever reason, he was able to prevent anything further from taking place, but for Lucas the insinuation had already been made and the damage done.

"Nathan, no," Kristin had called out, afraid that the Captain would actually hit the teenager.

Bridger's anger dissipated in an instance and was quickly replaced by remorse and guilt that he had made such a gesture to Lucas.

"Lucas, I………. I mean…….. I can't……..sorry," was the tumbled mixture of words that he could get out. He could scarcely believe that he had let his frustrations get the better of him like that.

He watched Lucas's face and saw the blue eyes staring back at him, colder than he had ever seen them.

"Don't worry, _Captain. _I seem to have that affect on Dad's," Lucas, his voice devoid of any feeling. "Go ahead if it will make you feel any better."

What scared Bridger the most was that Lucas had made no attempt to flinch from his hand. Almost as if he had been expecting to receive it.

Kristin tried to soothe the tension in the room, but the teenager was in no mood for any comforting.

"Don't!" he warned, taking a step backwards and avoiding any contact.

The silence in the room was deafening, the tensions thick and the emotions raw.

Lucas was sure he couldn't feel much of anything at the moment. Not the dizziness he had been suffering from before. Not the nauseousness that had made him sick.

But the pain of betrayal and the hurt from the false accusations was more than he could stand at the moment.

"I can't be here anymore," Lucas said suddenly, pushing his way past Kristin and heading to the doorway of the bedroom.

Ben Krieg tried to put his hand on the kid's shoulder to prevent him from leaving in anger, but Lucas was having none of it and pulled away violently.

"Get away from me, Ben,"

"Don't do this Lucas. Lots of things have been said here that we might regret later," Kristin pleaded.

"Lucas you can't go anywhere now, we have to talk this though. I am so sorry," Nathan said, trying to stop the boy.

Looking back at Bridger with utter contempt, refusing to let the tears he felt fall.

"Don't touch me!"

Lucas left the room and headed down the corridor, running by the time he got to the elevators, the angry tears of frustration now flowing freely.

Bridger wanted so badly to run after the teenager and bring him back, but the horror of the consequences of his actions were just beginning to hit home full force.

"Oh God! What have I done?"

Forty minutes after he had left the SeaQuest, Lucas found himself standing in his room on Bridger's island.

The teenager had already grabbed the rest of the stuff that he intended to take with him. He had lost his wallet, but had a few dollars stashed away in his room that would tide him over until he reached the mainland again and reached a bank.

When he had grabbed the few bills from his top drawer, another coloured piece of paper caught his attention. It was blue and folded up.

Pulling it out slowly, he opened it, his hands trembling. The top of the document read:

_Certificate of Adoption_

Lucas didn't bother to read the entire page, instead, feeling the hot tears threatening once more, he tore it in two, right down the middle.

As he closed the drawer he looked at the crystal photo frame on the top of the bedside table that Kristin had bought last Christmas. It showed the three of them on that morning, happy and smiling, laughing with each other. And seeming to be the perfect family.

Lucas could feel his grip on the outside of the frame growing tighter and tighter as his emotions began to take control. He couldn't hold them back anymore the hurt was still too near.

"It was all just a lie," he said bitterly.

Without warning, the crystal frame smashed into mirror across the room, both pieces shattering into thousands of shards on the floor.

to be continued ……………….

Author Notes: Okay – this chapter ended up being a whole lot longer than planned. You will find out what the clear drug was in the next chapter – as part of revealing the deception to Bridger and the others. I based its effect on a real drug that is used for similar purposes today.

I was going to leave the chapter end where Lucas passed out – but I wrote a little more – not wanting to subject you to a cliff hanger LOL

You will hear a little more about Stark in the next chapter as well- but from here – the plot isn't as complicated as some of my others – Perhaps my reaction for Lucas at the end of this chapter was a little over the top – but I hope it sounded okay.

Don't worry – Bridger is about to find out the truth – even though he should have believed Lucas in the first place.

There is a fair bit more to what happened between Lucas running to the elevators and then being on the island again – but I want to hold that back until the next chapter – to put the rest of the plot into place. That scene will be revisited in more detail.

Please let me know you are still reading – I will try and update again as soon as possible.

I have been using my Profile page to keep you informed as much as possible with upcoming ideas and story updates. I intend to finish all stories – some need rewriting altogether – others just need some time spent on them – but they will all be finished.

JULES


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

**In response to reviews:**

Lynnp - Yes, I agree that Lucas would be disappointed that his family and friends would believe him. That will be part of upcoming

chapters – so please keep reading. Thanks for the review.

criminally charmed - Thanks for reviewing. I haven't read any of Kaitlyn's wonderful stories for a while. And it is okay to want to smack Ben upside the head LOL That just wrote itself actually – wasn't originally intended for the plot. Yes the gesture I hope was powerful enough an effect without actually having Bridger hit Lucas. I did write it like that – but then changed it – I have to be able to draw a line between Bridger and Lawrence.

JOXER - I always look forward to your great reviews of my stories – keeps me writing. Unfortunately the way the next couple of chapters are going to pan out – Lucas won't be close enough for blood tests or anything like that LOL – but truth is about to be revealed – don't worry.

liesi – Thanks so much for reading – and to think that you like all of my stories – just makes me smile even more. Lots and lots of stories and ideas to come – so please keep reading. I hope you will enjoy them.

mayoroscommon - Yes – I wanted the impact of the "almost hitting" part for the ending of this chapter. The other scene at the island will be expanded more this chapter – to find out what really happened after Lucas left the building.

Dani - thanks very much for keeping up with the story – yes Bridger is BAD LOL – there are a few hurdles to overcome yet. Unfortunately even though Lucas is a genius, I always get the impression that he would find it difficult to get his opinions and points of view across to those older than him.

Ihni - You have hit the nail on the head with the comment about those closest to you – and hopefully that is part of this plot line – and certainly what I have used as the one of the ingredients. Lets stir the pot a little more shall we and see what else I can cook up.

Shudunedus – thank you so much for your wonderful comments about my writing – very humbled indeed and glad that you are still reading. Yes the formula for my ELF stories can be predictable sometimes, but hopefully I have a few twists and turns up my sleeve to keep them interesting to read.

Questfan – Glad you liked the first two chapters – here is the third one – I hope you enjoy this one – yes Bridger will be slapping himself.

Thanks for reviewing.

Author Notes: The personality for Marilyn Stark in this and following chapters – may change a little from canon. I always saw her as someone vain and proud, but vindictive. I also see her as someone who wears the actions she does like a badge of honour – whether they are right or wrong.

A couple of parts in this story relating to interaction with Cooper are inspired by some scenes in my Bonanza story "False Witness", so please bear with me as the story continues to unfold if it appears to be confusing.

I will be writing another genuine "drunk" Lucas scenario for my story "Stanford Reunion" – but it happens a little differently. It is supposed to have some more light-heartedness to it – although the symptoms afterwards may not, and the reasons behind the drinking are a little darker than this story.

_the seed of doubt continues on………………._

After running to the elevators and reaching the first floor, Lucas just ran. The lingering nausea didn't help, but being in the lift and feeling his emotions boiling over.

He felt closed in, confined, as though he was suffocating, but you just couldn't see the cause or a way out. The musical ding of the elevator brought him from his thoughts. He used the tail of his shirt to wipe his face and quickly left the building.

Looking up at the sky once he was outside, the afternoon was drawing to a close. It would be dark soon. He needed somewhere to think. A place away from here.

If he went back to the SeaQuest he could get the keys to the Stinger and make his way back to Bridger's island fairly quickly. He didn't have his laptop with him, but there was no way that he was going back to the room upstairs.

He needed to get some money and think where to go from there, now that he didn't even have his wallet. With a direction in mind, Lucas started walking slowly towards the SeaQuest. Many different thoughts plagued him; _Where was he going to go?_ _What was he going to do once he reached the mainland? _

By far the strongest feeling was still one of betrayal.

Bridger had just stood there and accused him of getting drunk. And just like the incident with the launch, he hadn't wanted to hear Lucas's side of the story. The Captain had called him a liar and then worse of all attempted to hit him when he had shouted and denied unabashed about not telling the truth.

In a few short days his comfortable life on SeaQuest had been turned completely upside down, with his family and friends accusing him of all sorts of misdeeds. Why wouldn't they believe him?

Lawrence had broken his spirit and body years before, and just when he promised himself that he wouldn't let anyone get close to him again, the crew, Ben and Bridger had held out their hand of friendship to him, and drawn him in. Pretending to be his friend, laughing with him, or maybe at him behind his back, he convinced himself.

Lucas's resentful mood and depression deepened as he continued to walk back to the SeaQuest.

* * *

Back on the second floor of their accommodation, Bridger was still coming to terms with what had just happened between him and Lucas.

"Nathan, we have to go after him," Kristin said worriedly. "Even if it is self-inflicted, he didn't look very well."

Whilst Kristin spoke, Ben Krieg walked into the small bedroom and over to where Lucas's shirt was lying on the bed.

Bridger followed the Lieutenant with his eyes, noting the puzzled expression. He knew that Ben was just as affected by Lucas's harsh words as him and Kristin.

"This just isn't adding up," he stated plainly.

"We know you are upset too, Ben, but right now we have to concentrate on finding Lucas," Bridger started to say, but he was cut off.

"And what Captain?" Ben yelled in frustration. "Confront him like just now. You already know how that turned out. He thinks he hates us. Me, you, the doc over there."

Miguel and Tim whistled silently, surprised at Krieg's dressing down of the Captain.

Bridger knew that Ben was referring to the heated argument as well as his gesture to strike Lucas, and he couldn't really blame the young Lieutenant for giving him a piece of his mind. He deserved it.

"What do you mean it doesn't add up?" Miguel asked from the doorway.

"All of this, the drinking, the launch," Krieg answered. "None of this makes any sense."

"I have been saying that for days now, Lieutenant," Bridger interrupted.

"Yes, but did you hear Lucas, Sir?" Krieg asked, "I mean really hear him."

Bridger frowned, not getting what the man was trying to say.

Ben could see Bridger wasn't picking up on what he had noticed. "He was adamant that he wasn't lying."

Kristin was also beginning to grasp what Ben was trying to tell them, "Lucas is usually known for telling the truth." She was inwardly kicking herself, thinking they had accused him unfairly, and not given him a chance to explain what he thought had happened.

"Exactly!" Ben declared. "What if he is telling the truth?"

"Putting aside the fact that he looked drunk, Krieg and the shirt there beside you, what else do we have to go on," Tim O'Neill questioned.

"Let's give Lucas the benefit of the doubt for a minute. Forget what happened with the launch for a second, what real evidence that we have that Lucas was drunk?"

"Well it sure smells like alcohol, Krieg," Ortiz pointed out.

"Yes I know, and I am only a lowly Supply and Morale Officer," Ben stated, holding out the shirt for the others to examine. "Do you remember what the bartender downstairs told us?"

"He told us that Cooper had tried to buy Lucas a beer," Tim remembered.

"That's right, a beer," Ben agreed. "So tell me, why does Lucas's shirt smell like a cheap bottle of scotch."

Bridger took the garment in his hand, reeling a little from just how strong the alcohol smell was, but the penny was beginning to fall.

"But who would...," Kristin began, but again Krieg interrupted the sentence.

"Cooper! "The bartender said that he had been bugging Lucas just a short time before we found him here."

"Why would he want us to think that Lucas had been drinking ? And how did he do it so that Lucas didn't know?" Miguel queried.

"Captain, I think we need to find this Cooper guy and ask a couple of questions," Ben said, his voice betraying that he had no intentions of "talking" to the man at all if they found him.

"We better try and get a hold of him back at SeaQuest," Bridger seriously as the group started towards the door. If he thought for one minute that this Cooper fellow had anything to do with these strange series of incidents, he would tear the man limb from limb.

"Oh Kristin, what happens if I was wrong about this the whole time," Nathan said, the guilt and remorse for his actions multiplying further by the minute.

Kristin placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, rubbing between his shoulder blades at the tension that was present. She had no idea how they were going to approach this if Ben's theory proved to be even partially correct.

* * *

The group were about to head to the elevators down to the first floor when Ben paused and looked down the corridor in the opposite direction.

"What is it?" Bridger asked, keen to follow Krieg's intuition. The man was tenacious, but that suited him just fine at the moment.

"We didn't see Lucas on the elevators when we came back up to the room. He said he couldn't remember much," he explained, beginning to walk along the carpeted floor.

When they got to the end of the hallway, they could see what Lucas had seen earlier, an internal set of stairs, and a door leading outside, down the side of the building to an alleyway.

The crew exited the building using the external staircase and now walked down the alleyway. There was nobody else about, but about halfway they spotted a large industrial rubbish bin, and some broken glass nearby.

Bridger took a few paces towards the bin, and could detect the stench of someone having been sick. The pained expression on his face was testament to the knot that was forming in his stomach about what had truly happened here.

Kristin walked over to where the broken glass was, noting the shards and what appeared to be a pool of dried liquid surrounding it. She gasped out loud in shock at the small item she saw lying amongst the debris of the bottle.

"What is it?" Ben asked, seeing the look on the Doctor's face. It looked like a small glass tube of some sort.

There was nothing inside. Krieg looked at Miguel and Tim to see if they recognized it, they both shook their heads, but were beginning to see that Lucas had indeed been set up.

"Have you seen it before?" Nathan asked, putting his hand on her shoulder, noting that she was thinking too hard.

Kristin took a deep breath before answering, "I have seen ones similar. "It could have contained Rohypnol," she stated simply. "Commonly used at parties and clubs to spike drinks, for lack of a better word. Its colourless, odourless and isn't easily detected by taste. Usually traces of it are found by taking a blood sample after the fact."

The doctor could see the others wanting to hear what she thought. She could be wrong, but deep inside knew she wasn't. Her concern for Lucas's health and whereabouts was now greater than ever.

"If administered to someone, the effects begin to appear 15 to 20 minutes afterwards. The symptoms have been known to last approximately four to six hours. Some residual effects can be found up to 12 hours or more. Rohypnol causes drowsiness, dizziness, loss of motor control, lack of coordination, slurred speech, confusion, and gastrointestinal disturbances."

"Some the same symptoms Lucas was displaying," Miguel said in a low voice. "Except that Lucas thought he had passed out."

"Just like he was drunk," O'Neill said out loud to no-one.

"Lucas said he had thrown up and couldn't remember what happened," Ben recalled, his fears for Lucas's safety renewed tenfold. "He is a pretty skinny kid, maybe the drug didn't just make him drowsy. At this point we don't even know how much of it he was given."

"How could I be so blind?" Bridger reproached himself harshly. All of this directly indicated that Lucas wasn't drunk at all, but instead drugged. They didn't even know if the stuff was still in his system or not.

"Come on, we got to find Lucas," Ben urged, bringing everyone out of their own self pity.

Just as they were about to speed up the pace and head back to the SeaQuest, Bridger's PAL communicator chirped.

"Bridger here."

"Captain, I don't know whether you want to hear this, but Lucas was just here. Somehow he got your spare keys to the Stinger and took off a few minutes ago. I am sorry, Sir, but I couldn't stop him in time."

"We are headed there right now, Commander. This whole thing has been a dreadful mistake. Lucas might be in trouble. Try and track where the Stinger is headed. Try and find Ensign Cooper and hold him until I get there."

"Aye, Sir." Commander Ford responded to the order. "Lucas was still pretty upset, Sir. I tried to talk to him and persuade him to stay here. He said some things…………"

Bridger didn't want to waste anymore time getting to the SeaQuest, but could tell by the tone in Jonathan's voice, that whatever Lucas had said couldn't be good.

* * *

_whilst the Captain and crew members were in the alleyway:_

Once he had reached the SeaQuest, Lucas was determined not to let his presence known to any skeleton crew that might be still aboard, helping with the unloading of supplies and equipment.

Commander Ford had walked away from the Docking area briefly to see to some matters on the Bridge, and therefore did not see the teenager walk past the Moon Pool, on his way to the Captain's Quarters.

Lucas was punching in the security code on the hatch door to Bridger's quarters, checking the corridor as it released to make sure that nobody saw him go in.

Bridger would have taken one set of keys with him when they left on the launch this morning. His reason for being in here now was to retrieve the spare set that he knew the Captain kept just in case.

Now inside, Lucas went over to the holo-projector and switched it on. A cloudy mist started to appear, signalling the arrival of Bridger's holographic friend Martinson.

"Good Evening, Lucas," it greeted him.

Lucas looked at the image, but didn't answer or respond to the polite hello.

The teenager played with the keyboard on the control panel, trying to locate the information that he wanted.

"Can I be of any help?" Martinson enquired.

Lucas gave a brief and curt reply, "No."

"Bingo," he announced as the correct code for Bridger's safe came up. The numbers were not that difficult to remember, and usually he didn't have to worry about using them.

The youth went over to the wall just above Bridger's bunk and pulled down a panel. Behind it was a small built-in safe. There was a small digital panel for putting in the security code and a silver handle.

'5 7 9 3," Lucas repeated to himself, pressing the corresponding numbers on the panel. He was rewarded with a distinct click of the safe door.

"Thank you," Lucas uttered in relief at spotting the set of keys inside the safe. He know closed the safe and activated the security measures.

Lucas quickly shut down the holo-projector and then exited the Captain's quarters. As he closed that door, he didn't notice the surprised look of Ensign Cooper from behind.

Cooper had been waiting to hear from Marilyn Stark about what she wanted him to do next. He had already reported to her about knocking the kid out and planting the alcohol. By now he had thought the teenager would only just be coming around back at the alley or being found by his friends.

The man had been surprised to say the least, concealing himself along the corridor as he watched Lucas exit the Captain's room. He didn't know how the boy came to be here now and he didn't appear to be suffering any side effects. The drug must have worn off quicker than he had reckoned. He would have to contact Stark again.

* * *

Once the teenager was out of sight, Cooper took the shortest route back to his own quarters. Using the video-link system, he attempted to make contact with Stark.

"Where is Bridger's precious brat now?" Stark demanded.

"I don't know, he walked down the corridor to the Launch Bay area."

"What do you want me to do?" Cooper asked.

"This doesn't change the plans that I have already made. It does make a difference to the time schedule."

Stark thought for a few more minutes, "For now I don't want you to do anything. Leave everything to me."

"You don't want me to stop him?"

"No, I can already guess where he is headed." Stark answered.

"You had better have my money waiting for me," Cooper warned. "This 'little' change in the schedule doesn't make a difference to that."

"Don't worry, Mr Cooper, I will make sure you get everything you deserve," Stark assured him. "I will send someone to pick you up in a couple of hours. Wait on the SeaQuest until then."

Stark terminated the link before Cooper had a chance to question her orders.

The blonde woman was calculating her next move. She had tried to anticipate Bridger's every move up to this point. But now she was being forced to show her hand a little earlier. No matter, the end result would be the same.

* * *

Lucas made his way back along the deck, past the Moon Pool towards the Launch Bay. Once there, he set about using the control panel nearby that would allow him to take the Stinger away from SeaQuest.

Commander Ford was just returning from the Bridge when he spotted the blond teenager, "Lucas," he said in surprise, knowing that the Captain was looking for the youth.

Lucas turned at the calling of his name, but now punched the button with his hand and scrambled through the large doors. The control panel had then closing behind him.

"Lucas, wait, the Captain wanted you to stay here," Jonathan called out after the boy. He tried to stop the launch bay doors from sealing, but knew that one the cycle had begun, there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Ford spoke into the microphone, hoping that he could persuade the boy to stay until Bridger arrived and talked him out of it, "Don't do this, Lucas."

"Sorry, Commander, but I am not sticking around here when nobody wants me," Lucas said, settling himself into the cockpit and putting on the helmet.

"Not wanted around here," Ford repeated back, thinking that the boy was just still angry about what had happened with the launch a few days ago. He had heard Bridger's brief explanation a little while ago about it all being a mistake, but he didn't know the full details yet.

"The Captain wants you, Lucas. He and Doctor Westphalen both love you," Ford tried to reassure the teenager.He was hoping to buy some time.

"Until today, Commander, I thought so too," Lucas said, his voice betraying his emotional state. "Nobody wanted to believe that more than me."

Ford could hear the tell-tale sign of the Stinger being prepared to leave, "Wait a minute, Lucas, where are you going?"

"I have no idea yet," Lucas replied, meaning that he didn't know what his plans were once he left Bridger's island.

"Come on Lucas, this is stupid. Captain Bridger said he would be here any minute. What am I going to tell him?"

"Tell him whatever you want, I don't care."

"What sort of crazy talk is that Lucas?" Ford said, sighing that he wasn't winning this battle with the teenager at all.

"Well, at least tell me how long you are going to be."

Ford heard the Stinger's engine and rush of water to indicate that the vehicle was leaving. The sound was loud, but he was still able to hear Lucas's last comment.

Lucas's voice calm, but determined, "I am not coming back."

* * *

By now, Cooper was beginning to get too nervous, sitting in his cabin, waiting for Stark's transport to arrive. In the back of his mind there was a little bit of doubt that she would actually come through.

"Oh to hell with this, I am not waiting for some dumb broad," Cooper declared, grabbing his stuff and preparing to leave the SeaQuest. He intended to make his own way back to her and get his money and split. At this stage they couldn't pin anything on him that had happened to the kid, and he wasn't about to wait and give them the chance either.

Not five minutes after the Stinger had left, Bridger and the crew came running through the Moon Pool area, seeing Commander Ford standing in the launch bay area.

Ford turned at hearing the running footsteps, "Sorry, Captain, I tried to stop him from leaving," he apologized. "I didn't have a chance yet to find this Cooper guy."

"Damn," Bridger said in frustration, knowing that he had just missed an opportunity to set things right with Lucas.

"What is going on, Captain?" Ford asked, seeing the looks on the faces of Ben and Kristin, telling him that something else had happened back at the base.

Bridger sighed heavily, but before he could answer, Kristin stepped in to do it for him.

"Someone drugged Lucas to make us think he was drunk," she began.

"There was an argument back at the room," Ben added, "Some words were said," but he stopped there, knowing that Ford would get the general gist of what had taken place. The Captain was beating himself up already.

"Drugged him?" Ford said in shock, "Who would do that?"

"We have a suspect, Jonathan, but we need to find Lucas first," Bridger said quickly. "Can you track the Stinger?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Ben spied Cooper trying to leave the SeaQuest. "Oh no you don't!" he shouted and quickly pounced on the man.

"You sick, son of a bitch!" Krieg growled, pinning the man against the wall and ready to pummel him for what he had done to Lucas.

Miguel and Ford now restrained Cooper, whilst Bridger and Kristin tried to get Ben to calm down before he did something rash.

"Don't worry, Ben, he will pay for what he did."

Bridger was not about to let the man get away though, "Tell me what you did to Lucas?" he demanded, standing with his hands on his hips, daring the man to deny he had anything to do with it.

"I don't know who you are talking about," Cooper shot back, knowing that it was pointless to lie, but he wasn't going to go down easily. Inwardly he was cursing Stark and his stupidity in not leaving sooner before he was cornered. At the end of the day, he could see that nobody believed him.

"Oh no," Krieg demanded, beginning to search the man for anything incriminating. "What do you call this then?" Ben pulled the item out of Cooper's jacket and opened it up for all to see. It was Lucas's missing wallet.

"That's Lucas's wallet," Tim O'Neill commented, stating the obvious.

"Oh you mean that kid?" Cooper tried to joke, swallowing nervously at the look on the Captain's face. "He was here a second ago, I swear. I saw him coming out of your quarters, Captain."

"We know he was here a minute ago, but because of you and your stupid stunts today, he's taken off," Krieg yelled at the man.

"You have about thirty seconds to tell the whole story, or you are going to regret it," Bridger said, his anger and frustration beginning to surface once more. It was because of this man that he had almost hit Lucas and accused him of lying to him and Kristin.

Cooper looked back at the Captain, seeing that the man meant business, "It was all so easy you know," he said all too casually.

"What was so easy?" Ford said, shaking the man a little to refresh his memory.

The man looked at Bridger as he spoke, "Well, you know what I mean, after that fight you and he had the other day about the launch. It wasn't hard to steal one of kid's shirts from the laundry and sneak it onboard the launch," he said smugly, seeing the looks on the faces of the crew as he confessed.

Ben was about to try and punch the man again, but was held back by Kristin speaking first, "What else did you do?" already knowing the answer, but wanting to hear the reason's behind such cowardly acts.

"Well, I thought the boy might have been a little bit friendlier back at the Mess Hall, when I spiked his drink," he began explaining, smirking at the reaction that he was getting from the crew. "But it didn't matter when he wasn't, I just waited in that alleyway for him pass out, dragged his ass back behind the dumpster and let the stuff do the rest to him."

Bridger's thoughts were swirling around like he was trapped in some horrific nightmare. Everything that they had suspected a short time ago, had just been confirmed by this man. He was almost laughing at them he boldly told them what he had done. The man was callous.

Ben Krieg was furious with Cooper. He wanted to punch the man and make him bleed. He wanted him to hurt. Lucas had been innocent of everything, and worse still, he didn't know it yet.

"Why?" Bridger asked, his anger disappearing again, as the remorse and guilt washed over him again. "What did you have to gain by doing this to Lucas?"

"Money, Captain," Cooper admitted, "Plain and simple, I was getting paid. My instructions were to frame the kid a couple of times. "

"Instructions from who?" Miguel asked gruffly.

"That's my little secret," the man said. Although he had spilled his guts about his involvement, he was still expecting to get paid by Stark and fully intended to collect.

"It doesn't really matter who is behind this," Kristin stated, "The damage has been done."

"Commander, lock this scum bag up in the brig," Bridger ordered, "I want to find Lucas first." Commander Ford nodded, knowing that Cooper was the least of the Captain's concerns at the moment.

Before Cooper was taken away, Bridger made sure that he took intent notice of his next statement, by grabbing a fistful of the man's shirt. Miguel and Ford exchanging glances and recognizing the ominous and warning tone of his voice.

"Mark my words Mr Cooper, if I don't find Lucas within a very short period of time from now, you will begin to understand the true meaning of the word suffering." Nathan now released the man's shirt but never took his eyes away from him.

* * *

Whilst Bridger and the crew were finding out about the full extent of Cooper's deception, Lucas was steering the Stinger towards the deserted beach of Bridger's island.

Thankfully the tide was high, which brought the craft in closer he thought to himself as the Stinger stopped and came to rest in the soft, freshly wet sand.

Lucas took off his helmet and unbuckled the safety harness, scrambling out and now made his way up the beach towards the house, leaving a trail of sneaker imprints.

His thoughts were on many things, so he when he reached the front door and started punching in the security code, he failed to see that the door was already unlocked. After the last number was put in, the door seemed to release normally and he went inside.

Wiping his sandy feet on the door mat, he didn't see that the "record" button on the surveillance camera above the front door was red.

Bridger had the cameras installed in various parts of the house long before the adoption to Lucas was made legal. With both he and Kristin now living at the house on a regular basis, he wanted to ensure their safety when he wasn't there.

The cameras worked in a sequence, and could be controlled remotely if necessary. There were two monitors downstairs in the main living areas. There was also a port in the office at stairs to be able to plug into and view from a portable device or laptop.

Lucas had been the one to help with the installation and configuring of the software. Although he wasn't totally happy about the invasion of privacy, he understood that the Captain was an important man in the UEO and there were sometimes idle threats made against him by disgruntled people.

Climbing the stairs two at a time, he went upstairs quickly, planning to get what he wanted to take with him and split. He would have to travel fairly lightly initially until he thought about his future a little more. But for now his goal was to get the money he had tucked away, get back to the mainland and get a hotel room for the night. Then he could work out what to do next.

* * *

Miguel Ortiz and Commander Ford were returning from the Brig, after having secured Cooper. Ben was still looking to give the guy a bunch of fives and kept away. Kristin had tried to assure him that it would be better for him to focus on helping Lucas rather than Cooper.

Ben was using the control panel in the launch bay, trying to track where the Stinger had gone. After hitting a few switches, a map of the general area appeared on the screen, showing recognized landmarks and the military installation itself.

"Look, this shows the Stinger back on your island, Captain," Ben said with a little relief in his voice. That had hardly been the first place he thought Lucas might have gone to, but perhaps it was were he was more comfortable there dealing with what had happened.

Kristin and Bridger walked up behind the Lieutenant, watching the screen and seeing the dot showing the location of the Stinger. Like Ben, they were a little surprised at where the teenager had chosen to go.

Bridger couldn't seem to shake a feeling the sense of urgency that was still plaguing him in finding Lucas.

"Captain, your launch is ready to go," Commander Ford informed him. "It was ready a little while ago, and was supposed to be taking you back to the island anyway."

"Thank you, Jonathan," Bridger replied. "Listen, I don't think it is a good idea if all of us just rush over there," trying to word it correctly that he didn't want all present to accompany him and Kristin on the launch.

"Its okay, Captain. We can monitor things here for a while," O'Neill offered.

"Thank you both," Bridger said in genuine praise for their understanding at how difficult it was going to be once they reached the island. "All three of you," he corrected, Commander Ford indicating that he too would be staying on SeaQuest to finish what he had been doing earlier.

"You just let us know if you need anything, Captain," Ford urged.

Ben Krieg had been standing to the side, trying to find a way of telling Bridger that he wanted to come back to the island. He wasn't exactly family, but Lucas meant to much to him just to sit idly by.

Bridger looked at Kristin and then at Ben, seeming to be guessing what Krieg wanted to say. He knew how the Lieutenant felt, and right now there was no guarantee that once they reached the island, that Lucas would even talk to them. He was fully expecting the door to his bedroom to be locked with no intentions of talking to any of them.

"Okay Lieutenant, you can pilot the launch," he agreed with a small smile. Kristin was pleased too, thinking along similar lines to Nathan that they might indeed need a third party apart to help if the teenager didn't want to talk to either of them.

"Thanks, and keep Mr Cooper there on ice until we get back," Krieg said. "He has a lot to answer for when I get back."

* * *

Within a few minutes, and not wanting to delay any further, Ben, Kristin and Bridger, entered the launch and prepared to leave SeaQuest. The short journey would take a few more minutes than the Stinger.

Ben sat in the cockpit, maintaining a smooth, constant speed, Kristin and Nathan sat on one of the long seats along the right hand side of the launch. Krieg could hear parts of the conversation between them but didn't interrupt.

Kristin didn't offer a lot of conversation, just a comforting hand on shoulder, knowing that he was going through a terrible time just as Lucas was. The deception had hurt them both deeply, just in different ways.

For the most part Bridger was plagued with the argument playing and replaying over in his head. As if every word was accented with the anger that had been in the room.

Bridger gave a brief snort of self-reproach, "I don't even know what I am going to say to him," he said honestly. He looked back at Kristin, tiredness showing on his face, "How am I supposed to tell him that everything is okay now, that I didn't really mean all those mean things I shouted at him."

"We just have to take this one step at a time, together," she answered softly, knowing that she didn't have any real answers either. "Lucas is a bright boy, hopefully it won't take him long to see that someone else is at fault here and not you."

"But that's just it, Kristin, Cooper isn't the only one to blame here," he said, getting up from the seat and pacing back and forth nervously. "No matter what happened beforehand or leading up to that argument today, I accused Lucas of those things. It was my fault,"

Bridger slumped back down on the seat, "It was me that raised my hand to strike him. How could I do that to him? To Lucas!"

* * *

"We are almost there," Ben called out from the cockpit. He had heard Bridger's words, and knew how the man felt. Somehow they just had to get the teenager to listen to them for five minutes and get him to understand that it was all a terrible mix up.

"Looks like he is still here," Kristin said, pointing to the Stinger that lay nearby.

"Let's go," Bridger said, looking at the few distinct shoe impressions that remained, confirming that Lucas had gone back to the house. A number of them had been eroded away by the tide, but there were some that still showed a partial print of the top of Lucas's sneaker.

The trio hurried the short distance up the beach to the house. They reached the front door and noted that Lucas had already punched in the security code. When they first entered the house, the thing that struck them first was the silence.

Ben didn't waste any time, and bounded up the stairs, headed for the teenager's bedroom. To his surprise the door was open, but the destruction inside shocked and puzzled him.

"He's not in there, but the mirror is smashed into a million pieces and there is glass all over the floor," Krieg informed them.

"How did it get broken?" Kristin remarked, not seeing the teenager anywhere downstairs.

Bridger walked down the corridor towards the kitchen and noted that Lucas's black bag with his surname WOLENCZAK, printed in neat white lettering was laying a few feet away.

The Captain picked it up and took it back to the living room, "He can't have gone too far, his bag is still here."

Ben walked back down the stairs and rejoined Bridger and Kristin, when one of the security monitors flickered into life. There were two monitors, but only one was switched on, currently only showing static.

"Maybe Lucas turned it on when he came in," Kristin suggested at the confused looks they all wore.

"He could be outside taking a look around if he saw the mirror," Ben said, giving a plausible explanation.

Bridger was about to worry that perhaps an intruder had broken into the house whilst they were all away on tour, and Lucas had come home, and was now investigating.

* * *

Some distance away, a gloved hand flicked the controls on a small signal box that was linked to the security cameras inside the house. It began relaying images back to the source. Three figures could be seen in a helicopter as it hovered over a large area of heavily compacted sand.

Before any of three people moved from their spot, the display on the monitor turned from static into a picture. All three watched on curiously.

"It looks like this was recorded a little earlier," Ben commented, noting the date as being the same and the time.

The monitor showed the front door opening, and then Lucas walking inside. He seemed to be okay physically the three of them noted with relief.

The recording appeared to be fragmented, instead of showing a continual flow, it now changed to a blank screen with a message appearing in yellow lettering:

"Do you know where your son is, Captain Bridger?"

Fear struck each of them, at the message. It wasn't a general statement. They couldn't see Lucas anywhere, and now they were worried that something had happened to him.

The lettering changed, the message now reading: "I will show you."

The image from the security camera, now restarted, the time only a few moments passed when he has passed through the door, but now they were seeing footage from the camera located just above Lucas's doorway.

Lucas had protested about them being installed at all, but when he finally saw their purpose, agreed so long as there wasn't one placed inside his room. The compromise had been to put it just above his door.

This allowed the camera to give a good view of the upstairs landing and the staircase itself, but at the moment someone had rotated the lens 90 degrees. The angle of the camera did allow them to see partially into the teenager's room, only about a third.

They could hear Lucas in the room, rummaging in a closet and then a bedside drawer. He came within viewing distance of the camera and they were able to hear him talking as he moved about the room. He was carrying the black bag Bridger had found earlier, stuffing items in it as he went.

"Don't need that," the teenager said picking up a shirt and then tossing it aside. "Definitely don't need that."

"Nathan, you don't think he is planning to runaway do you?" Kristin said in alarm, but from the images that they could see, that seemed to be exactly what he was doing.

Bridger tried to keep Kristin's worries at bay, taking her hand in his, but he found himself thinking the same. But the bag he had been packing was still downstairs he reminded himself, forcing himself to remain calm. He had no idea who was sending the footage or the messages, but his stomach was tying itself in fresh knots, thinking about what was going on.

Lucas now reached inside the top drawer of his bedside table and removed a small metal tin. He quickly removed the small lock on the outside, and after placing his hand inside, withdraw a small number of notes. There wasn't many, and the teenager appeared to be counting what was there.

"Not much, but it will have to do," they heard him remark.

When he had grabbed the few bills from his top drawer, another coloured piece of paper caught his attention. It was blue and folded up.

He put the black bag and tin aside, pulling it out slowly, he opened it, his hands trembling. The top of the document read:

_Certificate of Adoption_

Bridger knew what it was and sighed audibly, seeing the troubled expression on Lucas's face and the hurt that the boy's eyes portrayed.

He saw Kristin's sympathic expression and Ben's questioning one, whispering to the Lieutenant what it was.

Ben could see tears now threatening to spill down the young man's face as he held the piece of paper.

But none of them were prepared as they watched the upset teenager tear the page in two pieces, right down the middle.

Bridger felt as though a knife had been plunged through his chest and was slowly being drawn out again, "Lucas, No!" he cried out in anguish

Kristin was close to tears herself, understanding what Lucas meant by tearing it up.

Ben put his hand to his head, scarcely able to believe what he had seen his friend do.

"You can't do this, Lucas," Bridger pleaded with the monitor, forgetting that had taken place earlier. "Please, just give me the chance to explain."

"Don't go like this, we have to make it right. Please forgive me!"

They watched as Lucas closed the drawer, his gaze now shifting to a crystal photo frame on the top of the bedside table that Kristin had bought last Christmas.

The teenager carefully lifted it off the bedside table, closing his eyes briefly as though trying to remember that day.

Ben noted the photo showed Bridger, the doctor and Lucas, happy and smiling, laughing with each other. And seeming to be the perfect family.

"They are the perfect family," Krieg told himself. "They needed each other. This wasn't fair."

When Lucas opened his eyes again, fresh tears could be seen welling up. To the three people watching the monitor he looked so lost and unsure.

Lucas could feel his grip on the outside of the frame growing tighter and tighter as his emotions began to take control.

"It was all just a lie," he said bitterly.

Without warning, the crystal frame smashed into mirror across the room, both pieces shattering into thousands of shards on the floor.

"No it wasn't," Bridger said as tears welled up in his own eyes at the scene of the shattered glass. "I love you."

Kristin and Bridger were both crying themselves at the sight of Lucas's distress before them, holding onto each other. The atmosphere in the whole room was one of sadness and helplessness.

Despite his short angry outburst, Lucas could no longer hold back the tide of hurt that still ran deep. His hands flew in front of his mouth as he tried to stop the hot flow of emotions. Sinking down against the wall near the doorway, and drawing his knees into himself, he buried his face into his hands and cried.

* * *

Before any of them could compose themselves, the images froze, showing the distraught teenager still curled into himself. The second monitor now flickered into life, and a voice spoke.

"Tsk tsk, Nathan Bridger, I do believe you have broken that poor boy's young heart."

Bridger jerked his head up, and found himself looking back at the composed face of Marilyn Stark.

"Marilyn, what are you doing here," Bridger demanded, his own emotions raw and in no mood for the likes of her.

"Why Nathan, I am no where near your pathetic little island that you call home," Stark said coolly, stepping back in the room she was in to show them.

It was a large bedroom, with a double bed and luxurious furnishings. Stark was using a large screen video link and they could see most of the room. It wasn't Bridger's house.

Ben's sad face turned instantly into suspicion and anger, "You are behind all of this," he accused hotly. "Cooper must have been one of your flunkies. You were paying him."

"Very good, Lieutenant, I must admit that I suspected someone might work it out a little later, but no matter. I see that you feel just as close to him as Bridger does. Pity isn't it that he feels that doesn't want you all as a family anymore."

"What have you done with him?" Bridger shouted at the screen. "And don't lie to me, Marilyn, gloating is more your style."

"Correction Nathan, Lucas thinks you have caused all of this."

Unfortunately for Bridger he couldn't find the words to retaliate, knowing that she was right.

Rather than tell them what had happened, Stark decided to show them, unfreezing the first monitor so that they could see the remaining footage.

Lucas was still seated on the floor, trying to compose himself. Quietly ashamed that he had broken down like he had, but grateful that he had been on his own when it happened. He just felt so mixed up at the moment.

But then a strange noise from outside caught his attention. He slowly pulled himself to his feet, listening intently, making sure that he wasn't hearing things. He thought he could hear a helicopter hovering over the island.

Bridger could hear a noise in the background, but couldn't immediately identify it due to the sound being muffled slightly by relay.

"Probably trying to find me and get me to come back to the base," Lucas said, drying his face and grabbing the black bag and quickly exiting the room.

"I am not sticking around until they come back," the teenager said as he descended the stairs, heading towards the front door. The sound of the helicopter seemed to be getting louder.

Lucas swung the bag over his left shoulder, looking at the front door, pausing for a moment, just about to turn the handle, when he saw it turn. The teenager jumped back in fright when the door swung open and a large man stopped him from leaving.

"Who the hell are you?" Lucas demanded to know, but backing away at the man's size. He was wearing all black, and welding what looked like a baseball bat.

"Your escort for this evening," the man laughed cruelly, walking towards the teenager.

Lucas turned on his heels and started running towards the back door. He still had no idea who this man was, but didn't think that he was there to swap recipes.

"Not going to do you any good to run, boy," the man sneered.

"Thanks, but I am going to try anyway," Lucas said as he glanced briefly over his shoulder.

"If I can just reach the back door," Lucas said to himself as fear began to take a hold of him and the adrenaline was gaining momentum. But he skidded to a stop when the back door now burst open and a second, equally large man appeared in that doorway, effectively cutting off his means of escape.

"Oh my God," Kristin exclaimed as she was forced to watch two very large men trying to catch Lucas.

The first one managed to ankle tap Lucas as he started to run again, sending the teenager sprawling across the wooden floor. The black bag was dislodged from his shoulder and now lay approximately where Bridger would find it later.

The man was about to grab him, when Lucas used his foot and kicked the man in the face. It worked briefly, as the man yelled at the blow, but it wasn't enough to slow him down.

Lucas was trying to work out how to get around the man standing near the back doorway, when he turned to see where the first man was. He let out a sharp yelp as he saw the man was wielding, the bat towards his head.

Fortunately he ducked and turned his face away just in time and the bat resounded against the door jam, leaving a considerable dent. The teenager wasn't so lucky when the bat was swung a second time, this time connecting with his shoulder blade.

Lucas yelled out as he felt the savage blow. He fell to the floor awkwardly, immediately reaching for his shoulder with his good arm, and wincing out loud.

The first man walked over to where the teenager lay, and without warning, sunk one of his heavy boots into Lucas's soft, unprotected side.

Kristin cried out in fear at the deep groan that escaped the young man's lips.

Bridger was horrified by what he had seen, cursing Marilyn who continued to watch the footage, without any emotion on her face.

"You bastards," Krieg yelled as he watched the large man kick Lucas while he was laying on the floor.

The teenager hadn't lost consciousness, but he was gasping for air, trying to draw it in to replace what had been forced out by the kick.

"Get him on his feet," the other man instructed.

The first man reached down and grabbed the teenager by the scruff of the neck, pulling him into a standing position. Lucas held his arm defensively around his middle, waiting to see if he was going to be kicked or hit again.

The man now grabbed the arm of the shoulder that he had struck with the bat, and twisted it up behind the teenager's back. Lucas cried out as the pain in his shoulder flared again, knowing that the man was too powerful for him to break free.

The second man closed the back door to the house, locking it behind him. "Let's go," he ordered the first man still holding Lucas tightly. The boy was grimacing at the pain in his shoulder, but was being forced to walk out the front door of the house.

The footage was now from the camera that Bridger had installed out on the verandah. It didn't have a very large surveillance area, but he was able to see Lucas being led away from the house, one man either side of him in case he tried something stupid again.

A short time later, the camera revealed a helicopter hovering above the house, and then flying off into the night sky. Bridger knew that this is how they had taken Lucas off the island and why the Stinger was still down on the beach.

* * *

"Where is Lucas?" Bridger demanded, wanting to smash the monitor, but he was forced to reminded himself that Stark was the only one who knew where his missing son was.

"Why right here," Stark said, stepping back out of the frame, as the two men from the helicopter entered the room, dragging the struggling teenager along with them.

This was the first time that Lucas had a chance to recognize his kidnapper, "Stark!" he said in shock, still trying to break free of the grip on his arm. "Get off me," he yelled, trying to get free. His side was burning from the kick and his shoulder throbbed painfully.

The man that Lucas had kicked earlier, now looped an muscly arm around the boy's chest, pinning his arm to the side, and stopping the boy from struggling.

"Well hello there, Lucas," Marilyn said sweetly, bringing her face right up to the teenager. "I am sorry that we are getting reacquainted under such difficult circumstances," running her hand down the side of his face.

Lucas flinched at the woman's touch, trying to turn away from the sickly smell of her perfume. "What do you want with me?" he asked, trying once more to release the man's arm, but to no avail.

"I was just telling dear old Dad over there," Stark replied, pointing out the video-link screen, "About how you didn't seem to want to stay on SeaQuest anymore."

"Don't listen to her, Lucas," Bridger shouted through the monitor. "Hold on, we will be there to rescue you soon." If only they had a clue as to where he was being held, he silently told himself.

Stark laughed at the Captain's words.

Lucas had noticed it coming into the room, but only now recognized the Captain, Kristin and Ben on the other side of the screen.

"I must commend you Lucas, on your ability to stop the virus that I planted on the SeaQuest. I didn't think there was anybody clever enough on there to discover my little plot, and stop it."

"You underestimated me," Lucas shot back, the pain and captivity fuelling his discontentment. "Now let me go!"

"So I did," Stark said in a pondering voice, ignoring his plea to be released. "But a woman has her pride, and I don't like the idea of anybody interrupting what I had planned."

"Let him go," Kristin shouted through the screen. "How could you kidnap a child and hurt him like that?"

"Hear that Lucas, now they sound all concerned about you," Stark cooed in his ear. "Even after they thought you had taken that launch and accused you of getting drunk."

"How did you know about that?" Lucas asked, genuinely surprised, and not knowing about Cooper's confession.

"I have my ways, Lucas."

"Stop tormenting him, Stark, you planned all of this," Krieg said gruffly.

Lucas heard the conversation going back and forth, and was trying to make sense of it all, but he only had parts of the puzzle, and the pain in his shoulder wasn't exactly keeping his mind alert.

Stark smiled a little at the remark, "Well I thought that since he wasn't going to be part of the SeaQuest anymore, I might make him an offer to come and work with me."

"Never!" Kristin yelled back, "He would never work for the likes of you."

"Perhaps not," Marilyn agreed.

"What is it you want, Marilyn? Money?" Bridger asked.

"Money!" Stark said in mock surprise. "Well how about that Lucas, seems Daddy here is willing to open up the purse strings just to get you back."

"How much do you think the brat is worth, boys?" Marilyn asked her henchmen.

The man holding Lucas laughed at her Boss's suggestion, "Well you know Ms Stark, that those other fellows have offered us a pretty penny for him."

"Yes they have," Stark answered.

"Who?" Bridger demanded, fearful that Marilyn's mean streak knew no bounds, and that Lucas was caught right in the middle.

"Oh, a couple from Norpac are arriving later today, and then there was one gentleman representing Section Seven, sounded very interested in your young protégé here," Stark commented casually.

"Norpac and Section Seven!" Krieg roared, "You can't just hand Lucas over to them. They could kill him." Ben was desperately trying to think of an idea to find out where they were keeping the teenager, long before he could be handed over to such companies.

"Oh Lieutenant, their methods may seem a little harsh at first, but they have been known to be very effective at getting people to work to their way of thinking. I don't think they would damage him that much."

"You have a very useful tool amongst your crew here Nathan, and there are those who are willing to pay plenty to obtain the information he has in that cute blond head of his."

Lucas swallowed nervously, his fear mounting that he would indeed be sold off to the highest bidder. He knew that there were secret UEO files he knew about, and security codes that he wasn't supposed to know.

"If it is me you want Stark, let him go. He doesn't need to be a part of any revenge you have planned for me," the Captain offered.

"I am not helping you or them do anything," Lucas declared in his bravest voice, but feeling like a piece of meat being displayed in the store window at present.

"I beg to differ Nathan, why do you think I went to all of this trouble just to bring him here."

Bridger looked slightly bewildered, but more scared for Lucas and how they was going to rescue him.

"You see Nathan, last time I wanted to get back at you and your crew, I completely went about it the wrong way. I admit that now. It is not a mistake I intend to make again."

"I thought all I had to do was take the SeaQuest away from you to extract my revenge on you and those incompetent fools at the UEO who saw it necessary to declare me unfit for active duty."

"You were careless, Marilyn, reckless even. Ford had to relieve you of command for a reason," Bridger said to her. "I told you all of this last time. Doesn't seem like you learned your lesson well enough."

Kristin could see that Nathan was beginning to get to the woman, watched as she began letting her anger control what she was doing. Unfortunately though she was well trained, and it didn't last long, her composure and calm exterior returning.

"You taught me well at the academy, Nathan. You trained me in how to identify my intended enemy and establish his weakness."

"A couple of years ago, I would have put money on the fact that SeaQuest meant more to you than anything else," Stark continued.

"And now………. tell me Nathan, which one would you be willing to give your life for?" Stark asked, nodding her head at the man holding Lucas. "The SeaQuest, or this sweet innocent boy, who until a few hours ago, looked at you as a Dad."

The man twisted the boy's arm just a little more behind his back, enough to make the teenager gasp sharply in pain.

Stark smirked at the anguished look on Bridger's face, "Don't worry Captain, you don't have to answer. I can see it clearly displayed on your face."

By this stage, Stark was rapidly losing interest in the conversation at all. The upper hand had been lost now. Bridger and his crew knew that she had the boy and was willing to hurt him. It was almost time to terminate the video link and let the mighty Captain make the next move.

Stark knew that he had already hit Bridger where he hurt the most, but it wouldn't hurt to give him a twist the barb a little more. She turned her attention back to Lucas. She could see the fear coming from him, although he was trying to put on a brave front.

"Tell me honestly Lucas, how are you feeling right now?"

"I feel fine," Lucas said through clenched teeth as his shoulder flared again.

"Well, being concerned for you like I am, Lucas, you don't look fine," she said, standing beside him.

Lucas swallowed nervously, not knowing what this woman had in mind for him, but knowing from what she had done on SeaQuest that she wasn't the least bit interested how he felt.

"What have you been doing to this poor boy, Nathan," Stark taunted Bridger, running her hand through his hair coarsely, making the teenager very uncomfortable. "He looks very tired, maybe it is due to a lack of sleep."

Lucas looked away, his face flushing a little with unease that she was staring at him and making comments.

"Maybe I can help you with that, Lucas," Stark commented casually, giving a curt nod to the other large man that wasn't holding the teenager.

Lucas looked up and gave a cry alarm and fear as he saw the man approaching with a loaded syringe in his hand. He had no idea what was in it, but he knew he didn't want to find out.

"Leave him alone," Bridger pleaded with Stark, seeing the needle, and being so far away to help.

Stark watched the boy's family, knowing that any action taken against him caused great anxiety in them. It was what she was hoping to achieve all along.

The man holding Lucas could feel the teenager's muscles tensing up as he tried to shrink away from his captors. But was surprised at just how hard the boy was now trying to struggle against him.

"Hold him still," the second man with the syringe ordered.

"NO!, Get off of me!" Lucas yelled, trying to kick out with his legs and loosen the arm around his chest, desperate to get away.

"You can't do this," he pleaded a final time, but as soon as he finished the sentence, felt the needle prick his skin.

"See, now that wasn't so bad was it," Stark said to him, as the needle was withdrawn, leaving a small trickle of blood.

"Lucas!" Kristin called out, finding herself feeling just as helpless as Nathan and Ben at helping the boy whilst he was at the mercy of this dreadful woman.

Lucas looked down at the blood running from his arm, his struggles ceasing. He slowly looked up at Stark as though confused. But then all at once he began to feel odd. He tried to move his arms and pull himself away from the large man, but he felt as though the room was tilting in his mind. He was falling with no way to stop himself.

"Buddy, hold on okay, I am coming to help you, I promise," Ben tried to say to Lucas, but he couldn't be sure that his friend even heard him.

"He is fighting hard against it, Nathan," Stark commented coldly.

Stark moved a little closer to the boy, watching and waiting for the sedative to take full effect. She didn't have to wait much longer. Lucas's frightened blue eyes began to droop and his limbs began to feel lax. In another moment, he lost the battle and the man holding him had to adjust his hold as the teenager sagged in his grip.

"Put him over there for now," Stark ordered the man, pointing to the bed. "Make sure that this room is guarded at all times. I don't want any slip ups like Mr Cooper made."

Bridger watched on in torment as the man laid the unconscious youth across the end of the bed. Lucas was completely unaware of his surroundings, and unable to defend himself.

Stark lifted up the boy's head by his blond hair so that his family could see his face, "Such a shame, Nathan, he is still so young"

"There is nowhere you can go, Marilyn that I won't be able to find you," Bridger warned with deadly resolve in his voice.

**to be continued…………….**

**Author's Notes: **Okay – bit longer than I originally planned – but my fingers had a mind of their own. I changed how it was all going to happen quite a few times. I was going to have Cooper tell them it was Stark – and then I changed it to Stark coming on the monitors when they first walked into the house.

The crying scene didn't have exactly what I was looking for, and ended up coming out a bit lame – but anyway.

Needless to say, most it happened this way, because of my strange need that I have in most stories, for the crew and Bridger to see what is happening – most of the time. I do have a couple of upcoming stories where that may not be able to happen. But at the moment I have no cure.

The room that Lucas is in – is not meant to be Stark's room or anything weird like that – I just wanted to write something different than the old jail cell routine – I have plenty of that coming up in other stories LOL.

And don't think that just because Lucas has heard some things – or thought he heard some things – that the Captain is going to escape any sort of tongue lashing or punishment for his behaviour – that is still yet to come.

Cooper still has a part to play – don't worry – but you will have to wait until next chapter. Bridger probably sounds as dopey as a post in most of this chapter – and I have Ben being just as concerned as them. I always liked Ben's character – and include him as much as I can – yes it's the three person scenario most of the time. He is one that I wished they had not replaced from the first season, even though I do like Tony's character as well.

I don't have Ben crying when Bridger does, and I like to keep Bridger crying only very occasionally –but thought this was the right place. It was a little difficult to try and jump back between what was happening with Stark and what she was doing and then back to Bridger and the others – so it might appear a little disjointed in places.

The ending of this of chapter was a little drawn out – but I wanted to get Stark's side of the story out.

Now – when they hurry back to go and start the rescue – you are all just going to have to believe that they hurried very very slowly. Lucas will just have to stay with Stark a little bit longer.

Unfortunately the next story that I update will have to be one with cowboys and horses. I have another family who have been searching for their missing son for quite a long time now after he was hit on the head too – so I better go help them out before a posse of readers finds me.

The good news is that some of the stories I was struggling to find a flow to – now have new parts – and I have the plots figured out in my head and am looking forward to completing them. Getting crowded in there, but hopefully they will all come out straight.

I will update again as soon as I can. I hope you are all still reading out there.

Jules


	4. How to Find Lucas

**SEED OF DOUBT**

**By Jules**

**Chapter 4 – How to find Lucas**

_**In response to the reviews:**_

_**criminally charmed – yes the idea the Lucas thinks everything is coming crashing down around him is what I was trying to portray. I did want someone else apart from Bridger to work out the clues so Ben was the next obvious choice. Don't worry Cooper isn't getting off scott-free either.**_

_**Ihni – Yes, Ben will be discussing things with a certain Mr Cooper. As for Stark – not made up my mind entirely yet.**_

_**shudunedus – You will get your wish in the next chapter, please watch this space soon. LOL Glad you are still reading.**_

_**Dani – Thank you for leaving me some comments – and reviewing – I am honoured that I am one of the few. I am really enjoying writing my SeaQuest at the moment, so have no plans of stopping anytime soon.**_

_**firebunee – more action coming – and I have added to it a bit as well, to keep the torment going a little longer of course LOL.**_

_**SherryBird – Updating as soon as I can – thank you for reviewing and hope you keep enjoying the story.**_

_**cursedgirl – Hurrying as quickly as I can – please keep reading.**_

_**ElizabetRose – thanks for taking the time to review – very much appreciated. Next chapter up for you.**_

_**lulu – I really like the character Stark and thought she makes a good baddie. The fact that they didn't kill her off in the show helps my story ideas greatly. Thanks for reviewing.**_

_**Lastly – great thanks to skintec and boo512 who came up with the names for my two large thugs hired by Marilyn Stark and who hurt and kidnapped Lucas from Bridger's house on the island. They have now been christened Bruno Fabre and Frank Wallis and appear again in this fourth chapter.**_

and now, back to the story:

Ben, Bridger and Kristin scrambled as quickly as they could out of the house and down the beach towards the SeaQuest. They had to get reinforcements to begin the search for Stark and Lucas. Unfortunately they had very little information or clues to go on as to where she was holding him captive.

They had all seen her have Lucas dragged into the room and then use his life as a bargaining chip against Nathan. Stark had gone even further and had taunted them by physically having him held down and sedating the frightened teenager as they watched on, unable to help him.

Nathan decided to take the Stinger back to SeaQuest, whilst Krieg piloted the launch with Kristin. Ben had gone into a rare fit of rage after seeing Stark's callous treatment of his friend. He had hurled the two monitors across the floor, breaking them into several pieces. It was quite out of character for Krieg, but they too understood and felt his frustration.

The normally cool and calm Supply Officer had seethed with anger as much as Nathan with the thought of Lucas being held prisoner by Stark. Ben knew he would have to focus that anger on finding his friend rather than using it to destroy things.

Whilst Ben steered the vessel back to the SeaQuest, Kristin spoke to Jonathan Ford, telling him to get the crew to meet them in the Ward Room upon arrival. She hadn't gone into much detail about Lucas's kidnapping, and would let Nathan explain to them what had happened. Repeating everything more than once would only waste precious time that they didn't have.

Jonathan could tell from the tone in her voice that something was terribly wrong. When he had been told that Bridger was bringing back the Stinger and not Lucas, it confirmed some of his anxiety about the whereabouts of the missing teenager.

He still felt responsible for not being able to stop him from leaving before Bridger and Kristin had told him about the accusations made to Lucas. Then they had heard the confession Cooper had made about having some sort of involvement in framing the boy unjustly.

As Nathan headed back to the SeaQuest, a million thoughts ran though his head, all of them centered around Lucas. About everything that had happened in the last 2 days. It seemed like a whirlwind and a nightmare all mixed up together. It was almost frightening to think about how quickly their relationship had gone from one of a close bond that was now shattered.

Nathan had watched the screen as Stark had one of her henchmen administer the sedative to the boy. Instead of the anger and resentment that he had felt earlier about being lied to and accused, Bridger had only seen a plea for help and to rescue him from Stark.

It wasn't said out aloud, and Lucas had every right to feel betrayed and hurt like he had back on the island, but those bright blue eyes had looked back at the screen in confusion and fright before they drooped in sleep from the drug.

Bridger wasn't foolish enough to think that he boy would automatically forgive him once he was rescued, but he was deeply troubled by what plans Stark might have in mind for the teenager. As she herself had said, there were plenty of people driven by greed that would pay her for someone with Lucas's intelligence and abilities with computers.

Nathan ran a hand down his face, in the back of his mind wondering what concoction of drugs Stark had in the syringe and what sort of effects it might have. It had put him to sleep, but was that the only symptom that they would have to contend with once they found him?

Lucas had been hurt too much already emotionally and psychologically in the past two days let alone any physical injuries that he might sustain from his kidnappers. The two men were certainly very large, and they had already struck him with a baseball bat on his back and kicked his ribcage.

Bridger told himself that he wouldn't let that happen, banging his fist on the control panel of the Stinger in frustration that he wasn't able to maneuver it any faster. Once back aboard the SeaQuest, he would have to tell the crew about what had happened to their friend and fellow crewmate.

They would be as shocked and horrified as he had been watching it all unfold with Ben and Kristen, and the Captain was thankful that he would be able to rely on his best people to conduct such a delicate operation. Together they had to think of where Marilyn might have taken Lucas and then formulate a rescue plan that didn't endanger Lucas's life any further.

As the launch completed the short journey between Bridger's Island and the SeaQuest, Jonathan Ford was present to meet with Kristin and Ben upon their return.

"Everyone is assembled in the Ward Room, Doctor Westphalen," Ford informed her.

"Has Nathan arrived back in the Stinger yet?" she enquired. The concern about Lucas was evident on her face and her demeanour was one of worry and restlessness. She tried to hide her concern by wringing her hands together in front of her, but she couldn't be sure it was working well enough for the other crew members not to notice.

"Here I am," came a voice from behind both of them as Nathan stepped out from Docking Bay 4. "Let's not waste any time. We don't have any to spare," he said as he strode purposefully towards the Ward Room and the crew assembled there.

"Where is Lucas?" Ford asked, not knowing what had happened, but noticing his absence. For a brief moment he assumed that the efforts of the Captain, the Doctor and Krieg had not been successful in persuading the angry teenager to return to the SeaQuest.

"That is what we are here to talk about, Commander," Bridger said as he walked into the meeting room.

The other senior crew members gathered inside, greeted their superior officer, but noted the strained look on his face, and the concern showing on Doctor Westphalen and Krieg as they followed him into the Ward Room. They could sense that something wasn't right.

"I am asking for each and every one of you to help me, not as your Captain, but as your friend. I know that at the moment you are all officially on shore leave. But Lucas needs us all right now."

"Didn't he want to come back from the island, Captain?" Miguel Ortiz asked, knowing that the other people in the room had the same question.

"This has very little to do with what has already transpired between Lucas and myself earlier today or over the past few days," Bridger began to explain. "But it does exacerbate the situation we are faced with," he added, and then proceeded to tell the crew the details that he knew so far about Lucas's abduction.

"Lucas has been kidnapped," he stated plainly, pausing to see what sort of reaction was forthcoming.

"Kidnapped!" exclaimed Jonathan Ford. Bridger hadn't said anything when he arrived at the docking bay just a few moments ago.

"When the three of us arrived back on the island, someone had tampered with the security cameras that had been set up. There were two monitors were we could see what they had recorded a short time earlier," Krieg stepped in.

"They showed Lucas arriving back at the house after the argument with Nathan, and grabbing his things, and from all appearances, he was preparing to run away," Kristen informed them.

"Lucas was very upset about the fight and everything had been said to him. We know now that it was all an elaborate lie and set up against me and him, but at the moment, he still doesn't know that," Bridger continued. "He tore up the adoption papers I had drawn up between us and smashed a picture of the three of us."

The stunned silence of those in the room was evident at this statement. All present had been aware of how hard Bridger had worked towards gaining Lucas's trust to a point where they had both been comfortable accepting each other as family.

Bridger decided that the part about him crying in his room would be kept between just the three of them, without further embarrassment to the teenager. He didn't see the point in highlighting it to his friends and crewmates when what they really needed to do was find him.

"Lucas must have thought it was us coming back to the house to find him, and he tried to make a break for it, but just as he got to the door, two men stopped his escape. One at the front door and another at the back door. They were all dressed in back and one was wielding a baseball bat."

"Lucas tried to get away, but was hit with the baseball bat and kicked in the stomach by one of the men before they hauled him off to a waiting helicopter," Ben told those in the room.

"Do you know who kidnapped him, Captain?" O'Neill asked, hoping that the teenager wasn't too badly hurt by the men.

"Marilyn Stark," Bridger said simply, looking over at Ford as he utter the name.

"Stark!" Ford choked, thinking that things about Lucas being kidnapped has just gone from very bad to worse. "Why would she do that?"

"Partly to get back at me, I suppose," Bridger answered truthfully. "She knows that Lucas means a great deal to me. She was the one who paid Cooper to make it look like Lucas had stolen the launch and was drunk. She has already admitted her part in it all."

"She is pretty unpredictable, Captain," Ford pointed out, not knowing what her hostile temper, but cool and calculating mind would mean for their young teenage friend.

"She has already demonstrated that, Jonathan," Bridger remarked. "While she forced us to watch the footage, she had Lucas dragged into a room by those two big thugs. She tormented him about selling him to people like Section Seven and others, telling him that they were willing to pay a high price to gain his computer knowledge and skills."

"Captain, instead of talking about all of this, shouldn't we be out there trying to rescue Lucas now?" Ortiz asked, a little impatience creeping into his voice, but knowing that there must be a reason. Bridger wouldn't just sit by with Lucas being held by someone like Stark.

"I wish we could do just that, Miguel. But unfortunately Stark is already quite a few steps ahead of us. She drugged Lucas with a syringe and there wasn't a thing we could do about it," Bridger answered. "Marilyn wants to torment me, so she does these things to Lucas, knowing how much it tears me up inside to watch him being hurt like that."

"We could see the inside of the room where she is keeping him sedated and a prisoner, but nothing more. We didn't see the outside of the building or house. We don't know if she is holding him hundreds of miles from here, or right under our very noses," he added. "Knowing Marilyn as well as I do, I think the latter is much more plausible."

When he wakes up, Lucas is probably going to be feeling very confused and scared about everything that has happened to him," Bridger pointed out. "I just have to hope that he doesn't try to do anything foolish or rash on his own before we can find him."

"That is why I have asked you here today to help. We need to put our heads together and come up with a solution on how to find Lucas and rescue him. I am open to any and all suggestions you might have. We have to find him, and soon. There is no telling what she has planned for him."

* * *

_**While Bridger and his crew were trying to forge a plan:**_

Back to the place where Lucas was being held captive, it was approximately three hours since Lucas had been given the injection by Frank Wallis.

Outside, the day was turning into afternoon, and a thick band of cloud had begun to swirl around the isolated fortress where Lucas Wolenczak was being kept prisoner.

Marilyn Stark and her two henchmen, Frank Wallis and Bruno Fabre were in one of the larger living areas, having a meeting to discuss strategy and contingency plans for when the crew of the SeaQuest made her move. Stark wanted nothing to chance and wanted to make sure that all knew what part they were to play.

The building was constructed of dark grey coloured granite and sat in the middle of a large expanse of land. The surfaces were smooth and shiny, but the lines and the corners angular, giving the place a very foreboding presence. The interior was stylish and featured many modern pieces of furniture and bold décor.

To the rear of the property was thick scrub and bush land, with very little room between the back wall of the building and a steeply sloping concrete hillside that fell away sharply.

On the right hand side, a large protective fence line had been erected and electric wiring installed. Along this fence line at various intervals were security and surveillance cameras to monitor those coming and going from the fortress.

The left hand side was bordered by the sea.

In the front of the unwelcoming dwelling, there was a long narrow path that lead to a large stone wall that ran adjacent to the wired security fence and to the rocky shoreline. There was a large iron security gate that opened electronically and remotely when necessary.

Beyond this gate was a short expanse of lawn and then a helicopter pad. The chopper used to bring Lucas to the fortress was currently on the helipad, ready to be used again at any time Stark ordered it.

The building itself was three levels, with the living areas and kitchens downstairs, bedrooms and study on the second level and spare accommodations and a small laboratory on the top level. There was also a door way leading onto the roof, but once there the sleekness of the granite walls offered little opportunity for scaling them or climbing down.

On the second level, there were several bedroom and guest quarters. At the very rear of the property there was the room where Lucas was being kept prisoner. The furnishings within the room were rich and luxurious, in tones of the deepest red.

The bed was situated towards the middle of the room. On the far wall, there was a set of heavy glass doors, cloaked by heavy and thick curtains.

At first, Lucas found himself feeling just as he had done when waking up in the alley way back at the UEO Base. His body felt heavy and uncoordinated and he forced himself to wait a few moments until he could take stock of everything that had happened to him.

Thankfully he didn't feel sick to the stomach as he had in the alley and there was no residual or lingering nausea. His arms and legs felt weighed down and he could only assume that he had awoken too early from whatever Stark had forced on him.

He opened his eyes, slowly lifting his head and looking about the room. There was a small dull ache at the base of his head from the drug, but it was manageable. The teenager was surprised at how large the room was, noting there was quite a deal of distance between the bed and the door and then from the bed to a pair of curtains that hung against the opposite end of the room.

Lucas sat up and swung his legs off the edge of the bed, placing them on the tiled floor. His sneakers made a squeaking sound as he took a step forward. He was forced to hold onto the bedpost for a second as his body adjusted to standing up and the blood flowed to his feet.

Being cautious, he moved towards the curtains first, wanting to check what was behind them. He was surprised to see a set of darkly stained wooden doors with brass handles. He tried the handle first, assuming that it was probably locked, but it never hurt to double check. It might be an escape route.

Unfortunately his guess was right and the doors were both locked. The were several glass panels on either side, and looking through them he could see a lot of trees on one side and water on the other. There was no balcony and very little ledge that he might have been able to use if the glass panels were smashed, but he convinced himself that he had to try something to get away.

Lucas was about to try and find something to break the glass when he could hear distinct footsteps approaching the door.

He looked up and swallowed nervously, knowing it would not play out good for him if he were discovered awake or trying to work out how to escape.

The teenager moved quickly across the room, praying that he wouldn't be caught out, hearing the door unlocked. Lucas covered the distance across the room and lay back down on the bed, hoping that he was in a similar position to how he had been left after succumbing to the sedative.

The door handle turned, and Stark entered the room, followed closely her one of her two large henchmen.

Lucas forced himself to even out and slow down his breathing, feigning deep sleep. He could feel the rising of the hairs on the back of his neck as they both neared the bed.

Bruno Fabre was carrying a silver tray with a small plate of sandwiches and a glass of milk. He placed it on the bedside table, looking back at the young man who still appeared to be under the effects of the sedative that Marilyn had ordered.

The boy had been drugged almost three hours earlier, and he thought it strange that the youth hadn't moved yet.

"Should he still be asleep this long?" he asked Stark, voicing his surprise, but not wanting to cross the woman who paid him.

Marilyn ran her hand through Lucas's soft blond hair, and it took all of the teenager's will power to keep absolutely still and relaxed through the entire experience. It actually made his skin crawl, but he knew he couldn't alert her to the fact that he wasn't still sedated.

"Won't do him any harm," Stark began explaining. "It was a fairly mild sedative, but he is young, so it might tend to last longer in someone his age," she surmised in a casual tone of voice.

"Do you want him tied up when he does wake?" Fabre enquiried.

Lucas forced himself to remain still, but couldn't help but be silently alarmed at the man's suggestion. If they tied him up in any fashion, it would quickly diminish any chance of escape from this room and perhaps from Stark's clutches altogether.

"For now, no," Stark answered. "I am fairly sure two big men like yourself and Frank can handle a teenager."

"He tried to give us a hard time back on the island when we grabbed him. And he certainly fought against getting the needle when I was holding onto him," Fabre reminded her.

"If he gives any trouble this time, just dose him again and make it stronger if necessary," Stark commented casually, thinking that at the moment she could handle and take care of any situation or loose ends.

"Understood," Fabre replied with little emotion in his voice.

Lucas panicked inwardly, knowing that he didn't want to be sedated again either. He was still feeling some of the effects from the first needle that had been jabbed into him and he inwardly shuddered what a stronger dose would do to him.

His shoulder was still quite painful from where the bat had struck him and his side was darkening by the minute from the kick he had received from Frank Wallis.

"Don't worry, I intend to get full value for our young prisoner here," Marilyn remarked. "Bridger was talking about money and I fully intend to collect on this young man financially, but more importantly to be there and see the look on Nathan's face when the boy is killed right in front of him."

"All the mighty Captain Bridger is going to get is a dwindling bank account and a body for all of his troubles, and a lifetime of heartache," Stark swore cruelly.

The blond woman walked to the door, preparing to leave the room.

"Just make sure that he doesn't leave this room, even when he does wake up eventually. Bridger knows that we have him, but I want to make him sweat some more."

"Aren't you worried that Bridger is going to come looking for the kid?" Fabre asked.

"Oh, I am sure he will. In fact I am counting on it, but not just yet. As long as I have this boy, then I hold all the aces.

Bridger wouldn't dare try and attack us here, for fear of hurting this boy," Marilyn explained, a smug grin on her face.

Bruno looked down at the sleeping teenager on the bed after Stark closed the door.

"I still owe you for that kick to my face yet kid," he said out loud, not thinking that Lucas heard the comments.

When it was clear to him that the boy wasn't awake, he left the room, locking it behind him and situating himself not far away from it.

* * *

_**Back at the SeaQuest in the Ward Room:**_

Ben Krieg was getting as frustrated as the Captain with the problems they faced about knowing where Lucas was being held to make a rescue attempt. He got up from the table and paced about the room trying to get rid of some of the tension that was building up inside.

The longer they had to wait, the more unsettled he became. Bridger was sitting at the head of the table with this hand over his eyes, carefully going over everything that they had seen in the footage on the monitor's back at the island. Hoping that a missed clue would be detected and they would find the vital piece of information that they so desperately needed.

"We can't just sit here, Captain!" Krieg announced loudly, knowing it was nobody's fault, but finding it harder and harder to wait idly and do nothing.

"I know how you feel, Ben. This is hard for me too. For all of us in this room. I can't help but think what Lucas might be going through right now. But we don't have any ideas of where he is. If we go out blindly and start searching just anywhere, it might mean missing a vital clue that might lead us to the right spot."

"I say we go down to the Brig and drag Cooper out and beat the heck out of him until he spills his guts about where Lucas is," Krieg suggested, "Just go down there and beat him until he tells us what we want to know." he repeated determinedly.

The Lieutenant knew that his methods wouldn't achieve much. But they would certainly make him feel a hell of a lot better though and burn off some excess steam in the process. The waiting and lack of being able to do anything was driving him nuts.

"For once, I agree with you Ben, but you know as well as I do, that UEO policy forbids us engaging in any illegal assault of a prisoner whilst he is aboard the SeaQuest," O'Neill pointed out.

"UEO Policy, Tim!" Ben shouted back. "What the hell is that policy doing for Lucas right now, huh?"

There was a brief pause as Krieg got his temper under control, "I am sorry Tim, I should not have snapped at you like that. I know you are worried about Lucas as much as the rest of us."

It was Commander Ford who stepped forward with a proposal, "I have an idea……… but I am not sure how it is going to be perceived, especially after just hearing your outburst, Ben."

"Tell us," Bridger said anxiously, standing up from his chair as he addressed the younger officer.

"You are not going to like it …………..," he tried to forewarn.

"Just spit it out, Ford," Krieg ordered in a demanding tone of voice, but immediately gave him an apologetic look as he saw the shocked faces of the other crew members of how he had spoken to the Commander.

Ford appeared to ignore Krieg's tone for the most part, knowing that it was concern for Lucas that was driving his emotions and actions as well as his words.

"I think we need to do exactly the opposite of what Krieg just suggested," Ford commented. "Normally I wouldn't hesitate in getting the man to speak, but if we scare him and he clams up he might never tell us where Lucas is being held. At the moment he is the only clue we have to go on."

"There is the real chance of course that Cooper doesn't even really know where Lucas is being held," Ortiz remarked.

"No, but at the moment Stark is his meal ticket, and you heard yourself that he aims to collect on the money she owes him. He may or may not be aware of where she is keeping Lucas, or that he was even kidnapped in the first place. But a hunch tells me that he will know where to find her," Bridger added into the discussion.

Kristin had been listening intently to the exchanges in the room, but had yet to make a contribution. She would of course, when the moment required it, but for now, she focused her energies on working as a team to find Lucas.

She couldn't help but wonder how the teenager was and pray that he wasn't being hurt further. Having to watch Lucas being kidnapped and hurt, and trying to be there in support of Nathan was draining her emotionally and physically. She knew she would need to be strong for a while yet.

"What do you propose we do then Jonathan?" Bridger asked, taking heed of the man's opinion that they were not going to like his idea very much.

"If it's alright with you Captain, my idea begins with letting Cooper go………., " was all Jonathan managed to get out before he was barraged from others within the room.

"LET HIM GO!" they said almost in unison with disbelief in their voices from Miguel, but even more so from Ben.

"How can you even think of letting him go, Commander" O'Neill asked, his voice sounding very dubious to the whole suggestion.

"Like I was saying before I was interrupted……," he said with emphasis, "If we let him go and then follow Cooper back to the place where they are holding Lucas," he continued.

"He might lead us to the right to Stark's hideout," Bridger said as he worked out Ford's plan in his own mind. He had to admit that the idea was a pretty sharp and brash one. He just hoped that it worked out to their expectations. If anything should go wrong then he feared that Lucas would possibly be the one to feel the consequences.

"I know your anxious to get going Captain, but we have to give Cooper a little bit of a head start once he is released from here. If we don't then we might make the mistake of letting him know that he is being followed. He might not lead us to Lucas at all after that," Jonathan warned.

"Do it Commander," Bridger said, knowing they were taking a risk, but knowing that Lucas's life was at stake, they had little choice. It was the only plausible way they were going to find the missing teenager until Stark made her next move.

"Tim, keep an eye on communications at all times during this. Stark might decide to make another ransom demand," Bridger ordered.

"Miguel, I want you and Ben to organize any equipment that we might need for a rescue operation. Make it lightweight and transportable because we don't know how far we have to travel yet," he instructed Ortiz and Krieg.

"We will be ready, Captain," Ben promised. "Anything special that we should pack or bring with us?"

"No, but we will use two of the small inflatable rubber boats with motors. They will be quick and maneuverable in the water, but easy enough to hide away somewhere if we need to. We don't know whether Lucas is going to be awake or not when we find him, and we may need the extra boat to bring him back to SeaQuest."

"What makes you think that Cooper will take a water route, Captain?" O'Neill queried, worried that they might be unprepared if the man decided to take an alternative method of transport away from SeaQuest.

"I can't be one hundred percent sure, Tim, but when they took Lucas, they did so by helicopter. Which tells me that either they were planning to travel a fair way by air, or they were not able to get there by road."

"Like I said, if I was a betting man, I would put money on the fact that Marilyn is still somewhere fairly close. She is the type of person that knows how to strategically plan ahead and know where her enemy is coming from. I taught her that. She would be wanting to know in which direction her opposition was coming and be able to observe them from some distance away first."

"Which means that wherever she held up, might be surrounded by water?" Ford commented, beginning to get the gist of the Captain's assumptions based on Marilyn's ego and her abilities to evade anybody if she so chose.

"Exactly," Bridger replied.

"Kristin, can you pack some basic medical supplies and be ready to go at a moment's notice?" the Captain asked the doctor.

"I will be ready with anything you need," Kristin replied, knowing that Nathan was relying on her as much as the rest of the crew. They were all determined to make sure that this rescue operation went as smoothly as possible.

"Commander, go and do what you have to. Somehow you have to convince him that he has been given time off for good behaviour without sugar coating it too much for him to get suspicious," Bridger instructed.

Ford left for the Brig as required, trying to come up with a good enough story as he walked down the serious of corridors.

With Ford leaving the room, Bridger trying to put his mind to work on their supplies was the only way the Captain could stop thinking about all of the things that might go wrong with the Commander's plan. Everything seemed to hinge on somebody that they had little knowledge of and had only been aboard SeaQuest as lowly ranked personnel.

He may very well be putting Lucas's life in the hands of a stranger like Cooper and that didn't sit very comfortably with him at the moment.

* * *

"How are you doing in there Cooper?" Commander Ford asked in a no-nonsense tone of voice as he approached the small security window of the Brig door. Despite all of his training and military knowledge, inside his stomach was twisting and turning into huge knots about what he was about to do.

"How do you reckon I'm doing kept in this God forsaken jail cell of yours?" came the reply full of spitefulness.

"Well now, I was going to tell you about a change in events that might just see you walk out of here, but if you are going to be nothing by gnarly, maybe you don't want to hear what I've got to say," Ford said trying to bluff his way through the conversation.

There was silence from the prisoner himself but a look of doubtfulness and confusion written all over Cooper's face as he wondered what the Commander was getting at.

"Let's hear it then," Cooper asked gruffly.

"Now, now Ensign, is that how we address a superior officer in the UEO?" Ford said, a part of him still wanting the man to respect his position and talk to him like he expected any crew member aboard the SeaQuest.

Inside the cell, Cooper stood up as he rolled his eyes at the Commander's by the book stance on manners and addressing Officers. It wasn't something new, which was on Ford's side and it didn't rouse suspicion in the man as he approached the small security window in the door.

"Can you please tell me what this is all about, _Sir?_" Cooper asked, curling his tongue to make the title have as much sarcasm as possible.

"Captain Bridger is prepared to let you go without charge," Ford said, knowing that Cooper would probably be astute enough to sniff out a plot if he dragged the conversation out too long.

"Without charge?" Cooper asked cautiously, clearly surprised by the Captain's sudden turn around after having him thrown in the Brig only a few hours earlier.

"There are of course some conditions attached," Ford informed him.

"Of course…….," Cooper commented, knowing this would be the case. "But why the sudden change of heart?"

This is where Ford found himself having to put on his best acting skills, "Captain Bridger was under a lot of strain earlier as you probably noticed and he apologises for his outburst back in the loading bay."

Cooper was still looking a little unconvinced and Ford found himself having to add to the story quickly to keep up the rouse.

"Bridger saw Lucas back on his island and they are trying to work out things right at this moment," Ford said, his statement containing bits of the truth but made up after that. Bridger had seen the teenager back on the island, Cooper just didn't need to know that it was on a security monitor and not in person.

"You mean he found the kid?" Cooper asked, clearly surprised. Something must have went wrong on Stark's part and she messed up and failed to grab the kid like she had planned he thought to himself.

"Yes, but the situation is still a little rocky," Ford answered, "So I would appreciate it if you could give them a little space that they need right now."

"Oh don't worry, Commander, as soon as you let me out of here, you won't see me again until shore leave is finished," Cooper promised. He failed to add that he probably wasn't planning on coming back to this miserable two bit job if Stark kept her end of the bargain with the money she owed him.

"As soon as I let you out of the Brig, I want your word firstly and then you ready with your gear in less than fifteen minutes to leave SeaQuest," Ford ordered. "If you are not ready or don't agree with what I just said, or otherwise you won't have to bother about me letting you out of this cell and I will find something to hold you on. Do you understand me?"

"You got it, Sir," Cooper said, scarcely believing that he was getting the opportunity to get off SeaQuest without any trouble. He wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth and ask any further stupid questions about why Bridger had changed his mind.

Cooper had been looking forward to dishing out a little 'payback' to the teenager though when he met up with Stark. Probably wouldn't get that chance now if she didn't have him, but that was the least of his concerns for the moment. He had to make sure that he was far enough away from the SeaQuest before the Captain had a chance to come to his senses and come looking for him again.

Ford unlocked the cell door and swung it open for the former prisoner to walk out of the Brig. He released the handcuffs from Cooper's wrists and the man rubbed at them to gain some circulation back into his hands. He didn't linger much longer though, and the Commander watched him scurry away to his quarters to gather his gear.

A few minutes later, the crew members in the Ward Room, watched through a surveillance monitor as Cooper left the docking bay off SeaQuest. The man had his standard issue UEO bag with him, similar to the one that Lucas had dropped in the hallway.

Ben was watching the man with his hands clenched in fists at his side, feeling like a ratfink after what this guy had admitted doing to Lucas. "I can't believe we are just letting this guy go!" he said in an annoyed voice.

"I know how you feel, Ben," Bridger tried to reassure him, "But we need him to lead us to Lucas. That is the only reason that I allowed him to walk off this boat. Don't worry after we find Lucas and he is back safe with us, Mr Cooper will be headed back to the Brig."

"You better be right about that, Captain. Because as of this moment, we are on shore leave, and I cease to be the Supply and Morale Officer. If I come across Cooper again before we set off on the new tour, I am going to just be plain old bare knuckles Ben Kreig," the Lieutenant commented, smacking one of his fists into the other open palm for emphasis of what he meant.

* * *

"Is everyone assembled and ready to go with the equipment, Miguel?" Bridger asked is Sensor Chief.

"Ready, Captain," Ortiz confirmed.

While Bridger spoke to the crew, Tim O'Neill kept a close vigil on the screen, watching the man's movements.

All had changed into durable uniforms and had on bullet proof vests. Each carried a hand gun and some semi-automatic rifles. They knew that Stark wasn't one to go into battle against the UEO without a strike force of her own.

"Remember this is still a rescue mission, and Lucas must come first. Hold you fire until you are absolutely sure that it is necessary. This woman is capable of anything and will stop at nothing to achieve her own goals first. She won't hesitate to hurt Lucas further or one of you if she feels that you become an immediate threat."

"Once Lucas is found safe, then our alternative objective is to round up Stark and her entourage and arrest them for the kidnapping. They are to be brought back here for UEO authorities to sort out," Bridger reminded them.

"I want to maintain a safe distance between us and Cooper so as not to alert him to our presence, but keep him in sight at all times. If he gets wise to us and tries to ditch us, then we will have no choice but to force him to tell us where he is headed to, but I will not let him get away entirely before knowing where Stark is keeping Lucas," Bridger explained.

"When we get a firmer position on Stark's hideout, then we will probably have to formulate a plan of how we are going to get into the place," Ford surmised. Bridger and the others nodded their heads in acknowledgement of that suggestion.

"We are in luck at the moment, Sir," Tim began as he kept watching Cooper on the screen. "It took him the few minutes while you were talking to reach the car park a short distance from the SeaQuest. He has back tracked some and is now headed for the mariner. Probably looking to get hold of a boat."

"Okay, that's our queue. Let's get those inflatable boats out there close to the pier and wait to see where he is leading us," the Captain said.

The crew members left the Ward Room and headed to the Docking Bay and then off SeaQuest. Miguel was to man one of the rubber boats with Kristin and Bridger with him. Commander Ford had Tim O'Neill and Ben Krieg aboard their small inflatable craft.

While they had their boats tucked behind some of the larger boats, waiting for Cooper to show himself and in which direction he was headed, Kristin looked up and noted the ominously dark clouds that had begun to form overhead.

The wind had begun to blow and a tropical storm was showing signs of beginning to form. It probably wouldn't strike for another couple of hours, but it was something to keep them on their toes while they were in such light-weight boats. It wouldn't take long for the wind to make the water choppier and hamper their efforts to reach wherever Cooper was headed to.

For the moment there was still ample light to see where they were going and they had to hope that the storm would hold off until they had found Lucas.

Looking over at Nathan, Kristin observed him as he looked around and smiled at her, giving her hand a squeeze of reassurance that everything would work out as they had planned and that Lucas would soon be back safe with them.

She then saw the determined look from the Captain, together with the formidable expressions held by Ben Krieg and the other crew members and knew that all present were committed as much as possible to the task of finding and rescuing Lucas. None of them were in the mood for idle talk. They all had one thing in mind, finding their missing crew member and friend.

Approximately ten minutes later, they spotted Cooper heading out from between to larger boats berthed at the pier. Unfortunately they had to allow him to get some distance ahead before they could follow behind. They kept a sharp eye on his progress and direction the whole time.

As soon as Bridger gave the signal, the two boats headed out after Cooper, headed in a westerly direction.

* * *

_**back at Marilyn's fortress:**_

This time the world was coming back to Lucas very slowly. He couldn't tell if he was still asleep or awake, somewhere in between he guessed. On that higher plateau between consciousness and being unaware of one's surroundings.

The teenager tried to let the gray veil lift a little before trying to think any more. His head felt as though it was stuffed with cotton wool and everything around him felt incredibly heavy. He was still trying to figure out where he was and why and why the hell he hurt.

Then all of a sudden, he awoke with a start, realising that he had allowed himself to drift back to sleep after Bruno Fabre had relocked the door. He hadn't wanted to do that and knew that every second he delayed in trying to get out of the room counted against him. It only felt like he had lost half an hour or so, and he had to pray that he wasn't much more time than that.

His shoulder felt stiff and he winced slightly as he changed his position on the bed. Lifting his t-shirt and looking down at his side where he had been kicked, he could see the bruising to spread from the front and using his fingers, probed the skin to determine that it continued around to his back.

It was tender to the touch, but when he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, he couldn't feel any sharp discomfort or pain that might suggest one or more of his ribs were cracked as a result. He had had broken ribs before and thankfully this didn't feel quite as bad as that for the moment.

He was under no illusion though that it would hurt more if he started moving too quickly, but for the moment, he had to put all physical injuries aside as much as possible as he tried to figure out a way to escape.

There were a lot of other thoughts running through his head at the moment as well, about what had happened between him and the Captain and Kristin. He had heard Stark taunting Bridger and other comments made about the incidents being a set up, but he hadn't put all the pieces together yet.

Deep down he didn't know how he felt about it all. He certainly didn't want the relationship between him and the Captain to be over, but he couldn't deny the betrayal that he had felt back on the island or how nobody had wanted to hear his side of the story.

He had no knowledge of what happened after he had left the SeaQuest in the Stinger and what had transpired between Bridger, Ben and the crew. Nor any of Cooper's confession about his involvement and being paid to carry out Stark's orders.

Set up or not, the hurt in his heart about being unfairly accused was still very real, but for now would have to be put aside until more urgent matters were attended to.

Lucas spied the tray that had been left earlier. Carefully lifting the tea towel that covered the contents, underneath there was a sandwich and a glass of milk. His stomach growled in hunger, knowing it had been some hours since he had eaten or drank anything.

He told himself that he couldn't drink the milk because that was the most likely place Stark would put something if she wanted to drug or sedate him again without using a syringe. They would conceal it in something like the milk.

The sandwich looked harmless enough, not exactly what he would have chosen from the menu, but he picked up one half

and ate slowly. Once finished, he didn't dare spend the time eating the second half, but started asking himself what he was going to do to get out of the room.

It was while he was looking at the uneaten portion of the sandwich still sitting on the plate that he metal of the tray shimmered back at him. He removed the china plate and picked up the silver tray. It was metal and might pack enough

of a wallop to one of the guards if he got it right the first time. It might give him just the edge he needed to get away before they could stop him.

As he stood up and went to cross the floor, Lucas heard the squeaking of his sneakers that had happened earlier across the highly polished wooden floors. He paused a moment and wondered what to do about the noise. He knew that a certain amount of stealth would be needed if he was going to overpower his assailant.

Regretfully he sat back down on the bed and removed his sneakers and socks. He didn't have a backpack or bag to take them with him and they would be an unnecessary burden whilst he tried to get away and might slow him down. He had to hope that somehow he would be able to return for them at later point.

Padding across the floor in his bare feet, Lucas took up position behind the door, making sure which way it would swing open when it was unlocked and hoping that his aim was accurate. He only had one shot at this and it had to count.

Bruno Fabre had been sitting in a chair a short distance from the door where Stark was keeping the kid locked up. Nothing had been heard from the room for the last forty minutes since he had left and he assumed that the teenager was still knocked out.

So it came as a complete surprise when he heard a voice coming from inside, "I need some help in here, please mister."

Fabre listened for a moment thinking he was mistaken when Lucas repeated the sentence, "Come on, I really need some help in here," he pleaded in a meek voice.

"Hang on kid, what's the problem?" Nobody else was about, so he would have to deal with whatever was wrong.

The door was unlocked and swung back, concealing Lucas's presence. When Fabre entered the room, he was greeted by what seemed like an empty room.

"Where are you kid?" Fabre said, stunned that the room looked vacant.

He was about to panic that the kid had somehow gotten out and turned back towards the door, ready to head out and inform Stark. "Damn little bastard has gotten out." he muttered under his breath.

As he took a step forward, he was startled by something striking him on the head. Lucas had swung the tray with two hands with as much force as he could, hoping to knock the guy out. But was dismayed to see the huge man still standing.

Fabre was dazed, and put a confused hand to his head as he looked back and saw the teenager emerge from near the door.

"What………?" was all he managed to get out when he felt something strike him a second time.

"Damn little bastard says take that!" Lucas declared, noting that the centre of the serving tray was now buckled as he tossed it aside.

The second blow drove the man to his knees, but he still wasn't unconscious. Lucas couldn't believe that it still hadn't worked, but wasn't sticking around to try a third time. There was no telling where the other man was or Stark herself.

"Sorry, but got to go," Lucas said hurriedly and went out the opened door. Pausing for a brief second it was difficult to know which direction to take. It was the first time he had been here and the layout of the building confused him.

To his right there was a short step down to a much larger area which looked like a living room of a house.

To his left, there was a step up and then short distance to a set of double glass doors. Beyond these doors was a thick wall and then a staircase. This was where he headed, not knowing where the stairs would take him.

As he reached the top, he came to a narrow door way. When he opened it, he found himself outside, quite high up on a rooftop.

* * *

"What happened, Mr Fabre," Stark said as she entered the prisoner's room only a few minutes after Lucas had ascended the stairs. The man was still trying to gather his bearings as a trickle of blood smeared across his forehead.

"Kid was calling out to me Miss Stark. I thought he had gotten out, but when I turned around, he hit me on the head with something. Twice." he relayed as best he could.

"Damn it!" Stark shouted in annoyance, barely giving the injured man a thought. "Wallis get in here," she ordered.

Frank Wallis came into the room quickly surveying what had happened and able to make his own assumptions, "What do you want me to do?"

"I want that kid found and dragged back in here, NOW! But don't kill him, we need him alive," she reminded him. "That doesn't mean you have to go soft on him though," she said with a cruel grin.

"Yes, ma'am," Wallis responded as he knew what she meant, pulling out a pistol. He was also carrying a knife if he needed to use it.

"What do you want to do about him?" Wallis asked about Bruno. Fabre was now laying on the floor, close to being unconscious like Lucas had wanted. It had just taken a few more minutes for the blows to take effect.

"Forget him, he isn't of much use now," Stark said casually, barely glancing at the man laying on the floor behind her.

Both she and Wallis exited the room and stood in the corridor wondering which direction the teenager might have fled in.

Whilst Stark and Wallis were just learning of his brazen escape, Lucas was walking about on the rooftop, trying to find a way down. Unfortunately as he walked on all four sides of the building, all he was seeing was a sheer drop down to hard ground on three sides.

On the fourth side there was a large expanse of treetops, which effectively cut of any means of escape that way as well.

The wind was growing colder as the clouds overhead darkened. It was almost nightfall, and the breeze blew into his face harshly, blowing back his hair and putting a chill through him. His thin t-shirt and jeans offered little resistant to the cold. The air felt moist, as though it might rain any moment.

Being so high up, Lucas walked as close as he dared towards the edge of the building, trying to peer over the side to see if there were any ledges or other footholds that he might be able to use and climb down. The feeling of vertigo that he got was strong, and his phobia of heights began to surface.

There were no external ladders or railings or anything that might be to his advantage. He had climbed the stairs up here, and now with the time he had wasted trying to find a way down, he might have lost the opportunity of getting away.

It quickly became apparent that he would have to retrace his steps back down the staircase and find another way out of the building from the inside. And by now there was the very real chance that he would be spotted and Stark and her men could be anywhere downstairs waiting to grab him.

There was nothing for it though, he had to take the risk and go back down the stairs to find another exit.

* * *

He was about half way down the stairs when he spotted Stark and one of her men standing outside the room where he had been locked up. Unfortunately there was little he could do to mask his presence and they soon spotted him.

"There he is," Wallis shouted, as they saw the teenager. The man raised his weapon and pointed it at the kid, but Stark quickly intervened and pushed the barrel of the gun away from the direct line of fire.

"No, I said we need him alive for now," Stark shouted at him.

It was during this brief exchange between Marilyn and her sidekick that Lucas was able to scramble down the rest of the stairs and conceal himself away near the double set of glass doors. These doors separated the different levels of the corridor from each other. He was currently squashed up between the wall and where the frame of the door started.

About four or five metres away, adjacent to these doors was another narrower hallway. Lucas looked back at it in the hope that he might be able to distract Stark long enough to head down it, giving himself a better chance of getting away.

"We have to do something," Wallis said angrily to Stark, raising the weapon again in a threatening manner towards Lucas.

He understood that the kid was worth a lot of money, but they had to hold onto him first and stop him from escaping.

"Shoot the glass," Stark suddenly suggested in a whispered tone, noting something about the boy as she was him crouched behind the niche.

"Why?" Wallis demanded to know, thinking that the woman wasn't even thinking straight. Shooting at the glass to scare the kid wasn't going to achieve much if that was her only plan.

"Just do what I say," she ordered, giving him a cold hard stare that she meant business.

Lucas could see Stark talking to the man with the gun, but was not able to hear everything she was saying to him as he took a second to look out from behind his hiding place. Thankfully the wall he was leaning against was made of thick concrete and offered a little protection.

Wallis shrugged his shoulders, still thinking that the woman was nuts, but released the safety on the pistol and aimed his weapon at the glass doors like he was told and began firing.

The noise was deafening as the first bullets struck, splintering and shattering the glass panels so loudly that Lucas was forced to put his hands over his ears and bow his head towards his knees to shield his eyes.

Lucas was surprised at why the guy was shooting at the glass as well, but wasn't stopping to ask questions, and no sooner had the shooting ceased, he took the only chance he was going to get, and went to run past the doors towards down the narrow corridor.

In his haste, the teenager didn't take any notice of the floor at first and how it was littered with glass shards of all shapes and sizes. He soon found out though and yelled out in pain as he felt a number of stinging sensations to the bottom of his feet. He looked down and now saw the broken slivers and pieces of glass that the bullets had created from the panels of the door.

Managing to put his fingers near the handles of the door and flicking the lock. It wasn't much with the doors blown to hell, but it might buy him a few more seconds. Some of the glass panels in the middle of the doors were shattered only, giving meaning that Wallis and Stark would still have to smash the rest of the glass out to unlock the doors before following him.

Because the glass panels higher up and towards the bottom on the doors had been shot from the opposite side, most of the glass landed on Lucas's side of the door and that is why he found it as an obstacle now as he tried to escape into the narrower hallway.

Lucas hobbled a few more metres down the narrow hallway, clenching his teeth at the pain from his feet. His original intention had been to reach a doorway he could see down the far end. He didn't know where it lead to, but any distance he could put between himself and Stark was a bonus.

Unfortunately it became abundantly clear that he was never going to be able to go much further until he looked at his injured feet, so he choose to dive through the first available doorway, making sure that he locked it behind him. He had wanted to barricade the door further with a chair or a desk, but his feet were protesting loudly.

* * *

Stark and Wallis were still outside the locked double glass doors. Wallis was beginning to punch out the remaining panels to enable him to get to the lock.

"You keep going here and inform me when you are through," Stark said, not intending to take any further part.

"I thought you wanted to capture the kid," Frank challenged as he lost his temper when a piece of glass cut into his hand.

"I do, but that is what I pay you for Mr Wallis isn't it," Stark replied calmly, not phased by his aggressive outburst.

"Honestly, I thought I had hired the best when I paid you and Mr Fabre, but obviously I was wrong about that," she spoke down to him.

"Remember to bring him back alive. There are not too many places the boy can hide and there is no way for him to make it off this piece of rock unless he wants to take a swim in the surrounding water."

Wallis grumbled further under his breath as he watched the woman turn and walk away. He was beginning to wonder if her money was truly worth all the effort and her continual abuse. Angrily he smashed out another panel, only two more to go and he would be able to break through and reach the lock.

"You are going to regret this kid," he swore, as the cut on his hand began to bleed and sting. When he got his hands on that boy he was going to make him pay for his discomfort.

* * *

_**back out on the water:**_

For the last half an hour or so, Bridger was pleased with their progress as they followed behind Cooper, hopefully leading them to Lucas. Unfortunately the light from the sky was quickly fading and visibility was now very poor.

The wind was gusting and strong, but thankfully the storm that had been predicted earlier had failed to eventuate. The dark clouds were still overhead and threatened with rain at any moment though and that would only hamper their rescue efforts further.

"Can you still see him up ahead," Bridger shouted to Ortiz over the strong breeze that buffeted them. In the small inflatable crafts that they were in, they were beginning to be tossed about like corks.

"No, Sir, I could still see him a minute or so, but now I can't get a fix on him," Miguel replied, trying to squint through the wind and the darkening sky to see their target.

Commander Ford's boat was nearby, but not close enough for them to be able to talk. With the wind picking up by the minute, the Captain doubted they would hear him yelling anyway.

Jonathan Ford too was having trouble maneuvering the small boat with the wind, but he did still think he could see Cooper's craft, despite the deteriorating conditions. He was a few metres ahead of Bridger, the doctor and Ortiz.

"Ford seems to know where Cooper is headed to," Ortiz shouted back to Bridger over the breeze.

"Keep following him then, Miguel," Bridger told him as he put his hand on Kristin to reassure her once more that they were making progress.

The doctor's hands were cold, but her determination of finding Lucas still strong. She wouldn't give up until they had exhausted all possibilities. She wasn't about to leave the teenager in the hands of someone like Marilyn Stark.

"Hold on, Lucas, we are coming," Bridger said to himself, trying to block out the images of the boy being restrained and then drugged. "Just hold on a little longer……….. I will find you."

* * *

_**back in the small room Lucas had gone into:**_

Upon looking at the furniture in the room he had stumbled into, Lucas made the assumption that it was some kind of office.

There was a large oak table on the other side, book shelves and a long visitors couch.

It was this couch that Lucas sat on as he lifted his left foot to survey the damage from the glass. The bottom of his feet were covered in blood and he had left a trail of bloody footprints from the doorway across the room. He winced as he brushed away some of the small shards of glass that were embedded into the sole of his foot.

The stinging sensation was growing and with some of the glass removed, fresh bleeding began. By now his hands were also covered in blood, but he couldn't find anything he could use to wipe it away. He was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans, and couldn't afford to use his shirt given the cold conditions that he had experienced up on the rooftop.

When he was satisfied with the left foot, he placed it back down on the floor and picked up his right foot. It was clear by the stickiness underneath that the glass had penetrated the skin more. He could see a much larger shard of glass in a gash in the centre of his foot, and has to clamp down on his teeth to keep from screaming out as he withdrew it with his fingers.

The bleeding started again from this gash and was a little more substantial than the other cuts. This wound was going to need covering if not more attention at a later time. He didn't know if it was going to need stitches or not, but it hurt like hell at the moment.

Lucas looked about the room, wondering what he could use to stop the bleeding, but there wasn't any cloths or towels or anything else of use within the room. But before he could get up and start searching some of the drawers and cabinets in the room, the door knob began to turn…….

The teenager jumped in fright, knowing that there were very places in here to hide. And he didn't have much time before the door would be broken open. He wouldn't even have time now to use the desk as a barricade.

Wallis turned and twisted the door knob, cursing as he found it locked. But at least it confirmed to him where the kid had gone to and where he was now hiding.

The man had learnt from what had happened to Bruno that the kid might be waiting on the other side of the door, ready to hit him with something as soon as he got the door open.

Painfully, the teenager stood up, trying to think quickly of how to get out of this mess. His feet were still bleeding and sticking slightly to the polished wooden floor.

Lucas was startled by the noise and found himself caught with no where to go as a shot was fired at the lock on the door by his kidnapper.

There was no where to go as the broken door began to swing open and he could see the barrel of a pistol poking through……..

to be continued …………………….

**_Author Notes: Sorry but had to leave it there – honest LOL_**

**_I have added a fair bit more to this plot – which is why I left it here – as there is more to come in the next chapter – trust me – nothing is ever like it seems in my stories – you should all know that by now._**

**_Thank you too to criminally-charmed who inspired the scenario with the broken glass and Lucas's bare feet. Appreciate your ideas when I needed something extra for the story. It was a bit lame how I had Lucas taking off his shoes – but had to have bare feet somehow._**

**_Mr Cooper will be coming back in the next chapter – and the SeaQuest crew have yet to arrive – should be rather interesting once they are all together don't you think._**

**_Another reason for cutting this chapter off – was that I am still in two minds as to what to do with Marilyn Stark – keep her for another day – or kill her off – haven't fully made up my mind yet._**

**_Hope you are liking and reading – please let me know what you think. Next story to be updated is A PERFECT WORLD but it has taken more time because of all the new characters that need introducing._**

**_After that – I have no idea – there is no method to my madness as you probably know by now._**

**_JULES_**


	5. Confrontation

**SEED OF DOUBT**

**By Jules**

Author Notes: This idea was one that came to me recently when I was trying to think of a way of bringing back the character Marilyn Stark from the 1st Season. The idea of having her again as the villain appealed to me greatly, but I wanted her revenge focused on a more personal level than just being about losing her

Captaincy of the SeaQuest. Of course there was only one avenue I could travel down, where she intends to drive a large wedge between the two people that mean so much to each other.

The first chapter or two may be a littler darker in terms of the father/son relationship between Bridger and Lucas and it will be tested. I don't usually have Lucas calling Bridger Dad a whole lot in my stories, but it does appear on a few occasions in this story.

_a seed is planted…._

CHAPTER 5 – Confrontation

_**Response to Reviews:**_

criminally charmed - Stark was always a character like Zeller who I believed could have come back to haunt SeaQuest – so this was my opportunity to do so. Thank you for the comments – next chapter is up.

firebunee – so glad that you are enjoying this story – the updates are taking a long time – but there is no way out of this at the moment with real life getting in the way. I hope to update as often as I can – and I would rather update with something worth reading – than updating just for the sake of it. I hope you will keep reading.

mayoroscommon – this chapter sort of wrote itself towards the end – I had the rest planned out – but the ending wasn't something I had made notes or anything about. I hope this chapter is just as excitingl. Thanks for reading.

SherryBird – I decided to involve Lucas a little more in his own rescue this time – something different. A PERFECT WORLD has a significant amount written for it – but slower because it is very much more complication. Thanks for reading.

humblefan – happy that you think I am describing the characters right – that is a big importance to be usually. Sometimes I think I pull it off – other times not so much as I would like to. Please keep reading.

Shudunedus – yes I thought I had left out the majority of the crew in this story – focusing on only a few members – so decided to give five minutes of fame to someone else. And since Ben had figured out about the drug – I gave the honour to someone else. Thanks for reading.

ElizabetRose – I do plan to spend some time before the end of the story on the trust issue – because it is a theme that plays out in other stories that I have in various stages of completion or yet to be written. I have used Cooper a few times, and basically had him just as a bully, and not liking Lucas or the Captain. Hudson is not someone I ever followed – boycotting at every opportunity and refusing to watch Season 3. So I did play Cooper as a bit of a dummy and not figuring out what Ford and the Captain were up to. I did need him for this chapter too – so needed him to be roaming around free for the moment. Thanks for reading.

JOXER – stopping reading your review and going back to writing – promise lol – thanks for reviewing – I hope you will like this chapter just as much.

Ihni – I actually hadn't decided what to do with the henchmen – and still haven't when starting to write this chapter. I guess my muse will think of something later. I do think Stark was a great baddie to reuse. Zeller is my next target.

Lynnp - The cliffie really did write itself – honest. I don't do it very often as you know (crossed fingers behind back.)

Forgottengargoyle – you are making me smile wide here – so glad you enjoy what I am doing. There are plenty of stories planned that will explore the adoption story more – although I know it has been done well before me. I am planning to have quite a few stories follow on from each other as I get to writing them.

RHMichaud – I was pleased with how a couple of the scenes panned out. I haven't done too many fight scenes between Lucas and Bridger yet – so this was new ground in a way. More on the way for you to read.

Dani - Thanks for reviewing – hope you will keep reading – there is a bit more to come yet.

starbuck2008 – unfortunately you will have to wait a little longer for the make-up scenes – there was a couple of definite scenes I wanted to write coming up after this chapter that go a little way to show how hurt and upset Lucas was with the trust issue. I do plan to do something. Thank you for reading.

mirage24 – never too late to become a fan of this show. I haven't watched any episodes for a long time – most of my scenes and stories are written from vague memories and lines that I remember. I hope you continue to read and enjoy.

T – Updating – but there won't be any making up just yet – lots of angst, hurt and concern in this chapter. I hope you keep reading and thank you for your review.

Thank you to everyone who read my story – whether they reviewed or not. The reviews are my inspiration and make me write more.

And now on with the chapter….

_Painfully, the teenager stood up, trying to think quickly of how to get out of this mess. His feet were still bleeding and sticking slightly to the polished wooden floor._

_Lucas was startled by the noise and found himself caught with no where to go as a shot was fired at the lock on the door by his kidnapper. _

_There was no where to go as the broken door began to swing open and he could see the barrel of a pistol poking through….. _

whilst Lucas was anxiously watching the door open:

The man swore when he could feel resistance on the other side of the door. Something fairly solid too, as he rammed his shoulder into the door. It would take five

such attempts to get the door open far enough to enter the room.

Wallis burst through the door expecting to find the teenager on the other side, crouching behind the desk, but what he was met with was an empty room. The man

lowered the barrel of his weapon momentarily, but his senses were still on high alert. It wasn't as if the kid could go anywhere else…_could he?_

_This was supposed to be an easy job, no complications. Now suddenly it was going all to hell. Should have known it would go foul with some nutzo broad at the helm!_

"Come out, come out wherever you are," Wallis sing-songed, thinking that the kid would be high on fear and liable to give himself away soon enough. He loosened his grip on the handle of his gun, his hand still stinging.

Walking a few more paces into the room, he fixed his gaze upon the floor and saw a number of bloody footprints. They started over near the couch and followed

a distinct line to behind the desk, just like he predicted.

Hoping the catch the kid looking more towards the door, Wallis stepped behind the desk, intending to startle the teenager and end all this foolhardy behavior. He could see from the amount of blood on the floor that he must be hurting and more than willing to give himself up to get treatment.

Looking behind the desk though, the kid wasn't anywhere to be seen. Just more bloody footprints around.

_Damn, I thought he would be behind here. Ain't too many places in here for you to hide little rat._

"Okay kid, I have had just about enough, now come out of your hiding place and maybe I will go easy on you," he taunted cautiously, knowing that Bruno had been caught off-guard upstairs and whacked a number of times in order for the boy to gain his initial escape.

"You will have to do better than that…." came a muffled voice, a grin appearing on the gunman's face at the thought of catching his intended prey.

_Bingo! _He thought the kid might hold out a bit longer before revealing himself.

"Now don't be like that kid, come on out and let's make a deal," Wallis offered, slowly following the remaining footprints to a storage closet situated off to the side of the room. The kid must be inside. The door was solid wood with a slated front. There was no light coming from inside.

_**A few moments earlier:**_

Lucas saw the barrel of the gun protrude through the opening door. There wasn't much time. Both feet were protesting loudly as he quickly pulled a chair from over near the desk, and jammed the top of it under the doorknob. He knew it wouldn't hold long, and as if to answer that thought, a loud thud from the other side of the door startled him.

The guy with the gun was still trying to get in. He had to hide. Looking down at the floor at his feet, he could see the smeared bloody footprints. He had not had time to wrap anything around either one of them yet. His right foot bleeding the most. An idea struck him…..risky, but it might be enough to throw Mr "Gun-in-hand-ramming-the-door" off long enough to escape the room.

Looking down at the footprints, with the few seconds he had spare, he mapped out a few deliberate ones, leading from the office desk, away from it and to a storage closet. A few prints were beginning to smear into each other and mar the trail he paced out. He shuffled as quickly as he could to conceal himself as best he could.

He thought he had been spotted in the last moment, when Wallis burst through the door. Now to see if this guy was as gullible as the one upstairs guarding his prison room.

"Come out, come out wherever you are."

_Sure I will…not! _Lucas thought, keeping as quiet as possible, but feeling the adrenaline in him running high, he just wanted to get out of there.

The teenager saw the man creeping up behind the desk, expecting him to be there. He had to bite down on the inside of his cheek to stop making any noise at the pain coming from his feet.

The guy wasn't following the script so to speak, and Lucas needed him to move nearer to the closet before he could spring the trap he had in mind. Knowing that he could be possibly giving his hiding place way, he threw a half-hearted taunt out there.

"You will have to do better than that…."

Lucas pulled back into his hiding position a little more, as the guy seemed to take the bait and focus his attention and the gun barrel on the slate wooden door of the closet. Now was not the time to be trying out his new stand-up routine of clever one-liners. He was sure the man was going to turn around and realize this was all a very bad setup.

"Now don't be like that kid, come on out and let's make a deal."

_**Back to present time:**_

To the teenager's surprise, Wallis walked up to the door, testing if the handle turned. A short "click" signaled that the door was unlocked, and he pulled it towards him, "Come on out of there kid," the man snarled. The small room was completely dark, and Frank couldn't see the boy at all.

Fumbling for a moment, with the gun in one hand, Frank released the door knob and opened the closet door a little further, reaching up with his free hand and feeling around for any sign of a light switch.

This was the only chance he was going to get, Lucas told himself, as he rushed at the guy while his back was turned, and gave him a hard shove towards the back of the closet.

"What the….." escaped his mouth in surprise. The next sensation Frank felt was a punch of some sort to his back and being propelled forward into the darkened small space, landing on all fours and losing his grip on the gun he had been holding.

Lucas had been hoping that he might have been able to knock the gun out of the man's hand before he was all the way into the closet, but that was not to be the case. He could only take a small amount of relief in the fact that the man had fallen down partially, giving him time to scurry and shut the door. He quickly realized his error of judgment, noticing that the lock on the door the inside. The gun could be heard a moment earlier making a distinct cluttering noise on the hard floor in the inside of the closet.

"You little punk," Frank shouted out, scrambling to his feet in the room, feeling around and trying to find his gun. With the door closed, it was pitch black and he couldn't see a thing, and he still didn't know where the damn light switch was.

Lucas's feet were protesting loudly as he quickly got one of the visitor's chairs on the opposite side of the desk, shoving the back of it up and under the door knob to prevent it turning. Just in time too, as Frank twisted the knob not a second later, rattling it and banging on the door in frustration. The door wasn't even locked, and here he was pussy-footing around with some damn kid in the dark.

"You let me out of here right now…." Frank growled, adding a few explicit expletives.

Lucas took a moment to pause and marvel that such a stupid and obvious stunt had actually worked. On any other day, his boat would have been sunk, but he allowed himself a brief smile that a half-baked idea was keeping him separated from a guy who by now wanted to do him serious hurt and the wrong end of a gun.

"This door is going to stop me kid, it ain't even locked from out there," the man threatened, still trying to find the light switch. But the chair was creating enough resistance for prevent him from escaping for now.

Lucas knew that time was not on his side, and even if they didn't hear the guy yelling from inside the closet, no doubt others would be looking for him soon enough, including Stark herself. Whilst he had lucked out in fooling the guy upstairs and escaping his prison, and now avoiding capture for a second time, he couldn't hang around here any longer.

"Tell you what," Lucas taunted briefly, as he headed for the door to the office, "You stay here, and I will go and get someone to help," the teenager's proposal dripping in sarcasm.

"Haha, you are funny, kid, you just wait, I am nearly out of here," the man shouted back.

Lucas peeked his head out of the office door, making sure the coast was clear for him to leave and that nobody was out in the corridor waiting to pounce. To his relief, all appeared quiet. Fortunately, he was able to turn the lock on the inside of his door before pulling it shut behind him, effectively locking the office. But for how long, he didn't want to wait and find out.

By now his feet were throbbing, and even going this short distance from inside the office to the corridor, was causing him to hobble along. Any attempt at trying to put full weight on his right foot, only sent sharp pains through the sole of his foot, no doubt from a few shards of glass that remained embedded in there. The movement had caused the bleeding to become noticeable again, and he could feel the sticky residue of footprints that he was leaving in the corridor, showing any would-be pursuer which direction he had gone in.

Lucas had taken the opposite way down this corridor, not really knowing where he was headed. His instincts telling him that he needed to be as far away from Stark as soon as possible. He was surprised, but thankful to find a vacant doorway. He didn't know where it led to, but didn't really have the option of heading back the way he had come.

A loud bang from behind, made him hurry through the new doorway, realizing that Frank had either let himself out of the closet with his gun, or there were others now headed his way as well. The teenager rubbed the hair out of his eyes and made himself pick up the pace, not daring to take the time to look back in case he was right.

Surprised that the door wasn't locked, Lucas twisted the handle, opening the door and found himself outside the house. The pitch blackness was in contrast to where he had just come from inside. He only dared his eyes a brief moment to adjust to the new surroundings and gain some kind of bearings. '_There was no map on this forced tour that he had been shown_,' he thought sarcastically to himself.

In front of him was a narrow section of grassed lawn and concreted paths. He looked at which way he should go, and opted for the left, where there was a rather imposing and dark textured wall rather than panels of windows that were on the right hand side of the doorway. The minimalist look was never a good style, and the architect must have been kind of nut job.

With only having seen small sections of the house so far at any one time, the modern and extreme architecture drew his gaze. Lucas couldn't help but draw the conclusion that it suited the personality of the owner, Marilyn Stark. Cold and impersonal, dark and mysterious, all tags that could easily be applied to his blond kidnapper. Maybe she could get her own guest appearance on the latest cover of, "Home Décor of the Criminally Insane'.

So many thoughts were trying to break through in his mind and the pain barrier. About what had been transpiring between him and Bridger and Ben over the past few days. Some of it made sense, other parts were hazy. He remembered being held in front of Stark by her goons, and seeing Bridger's face on a monitor, but the drugs she had forced upon him were still having a residual confusing affect. Everything was just too jumbled up at the moment and his feet were killing him.

The teenager berated himself, knowing had to find somewhere to conceal himself away from Stark and her goons and keep himself safe. The events with Bridger and Ben were swirling around and threatening to descend upon him again, but he subconsciously pushed them to one side of his mind. Freedom was his newest goal and staying alive.

A loud rumble of thunder from overhead made him jump out of his skin, thinking he had been standing still for too long. The dark sky was heavy with moisture and there was a noticeable drop in temperature from being inside. The thin layer of clothing he wore noticing the chill in the air. There wasn't much shelter from the weather on this side of the house, and he felt the first spots of rain on his face as he made his way carefully along the wall, thinking that someone was going to spot him at any minute.

* * *

Approaching Stark's house from the waterway, to thwart Bridger and his rescue team further, the dark clouds that had threatened rain earlier, started to shed their heavy load. The rain light, but constant and hampering visibility considerably. Just what they didn't need at the moment when trying to keep a tail on Cooper.

Bridger had to wring his hands together and keep telling himself that the team was doing the best it could, under difficult circumstances. The biggest fear was that Cooper would realize that he was being followed, if he hadn't already done so. It wouldn't take long for word to reach Stark and her band, and Lucas could be placed in more jeopardy.

Nathan felt a warm comforting and encircle his and give a quick squeeze of understanding, he looked over at Kristen and silently thanked her for unspoken thoughts. They were all worried, and their focus now had to be on rescuing Lucas.

"Shouldn't be long now, Krieg," Commander Ford shouted, the rain droplets running down his face visible in the torch light from the Supply Officer. Jonathan signaling what information he could to the Captain in the order inflatable boat. He saw the nod of Bridger's head that he had seen the hand gestures, but communication between them was rudimentary at best whilst they were in separate craft and with the weather in the way.

Ben had turned his head at Ford's statement on their current position, but his face was devoid of emotion and the animation that the crew was used to seeing on a daily basis back aboard SeaQuest. Krieg prided himself on usually being able to turn the other cheek and not let a lot of things bother him. After what he had witnessed today, and when it came to messing with someone he claimed to be as close as family, this was a different type of feeling that he just couldn't seem to shake free from.

He kept seeing the monitors back on Bridger's island and how much torment both Lucas and the Captain were going through as a result of all this mess. Lucas had been ready to run away, before Stark had gotten her claws on him. And who knew what was happening to him now after seeing him drugged and forcibly held prisoner.

As they followed Cooper, he kept asking himself how he hadn't picked up on the internal problems with Lucas and how they had let a snake like Cooper manipulate him without noticing. He kept hearing the sneer in Cooper's voice as he admitted his part in the whole scheme and saw the smugness on his face at his boldness and brashness for the sake of money. He scowled again at seeing that smirk and promised that Cooper would pay for his misdeeds.

"Captain, it looks like he is altering course," Miguel shouted, trying to squint through the falling rain into the night sky.

Commander Ford's boat was turning slightly away from its current position, lurching more to the left-hand side of the waterway. So that is where Ortiz aimed the nose of the second craft as well. Although they had only been on the water a relatively short time, perhaps Cooper was unknowingly starting to lead them to his ultimate destination.

Cooper's craft had picked up speed, despite the rain, and Ford had to keep a sharp eye on him in front to make sure they didn't lose track on him. There was now a distinct curve to the waterway, and just for a second, the Commander thought he could see the outline of a structure in the distance.

Another two hundred metres travel, and Ford strongly signaled with his arm and pointing up ahead to the team, at what he thought he could see as a building. Cooper definitely deemed to be heading towards it. Although wanting to keep him in their sights, they had to be more cautious about their own approach, especially if they were nearing where Lucas was being held.

* * *

Stark had heard the same loud bangs that Lucas had some minutes earlier, and was now quickly to investigate. She found herself having to navigate the mess of glass in one hallway they had been in earlier, chasing the missing teenager.

Another noise coming from behind a door, and she purposefully walked towards it and went to turn the handle, only to find herself shoved roughly backwards as an angry and annoyed Frank Bruno emerged from within, with gun pointing towards her.

Not one to be intimidated though, Stark could already see from the frustration on the man's face that her plan to recapture Bridger's brat had been dented once more due to incompetence.

"Don't point that at me, Mr Bruno," she chastised icily. Her manner was polite, but her features scowling in disgust, "I take it you let him get away again?"

"Kid outsmarted me is all," Frank shot back, see in the woman's eyes, contempt and only brief acknowledgement of his presence. As is he was something on her shoe she had just stepped on and was preparing to brush off.

"Now that I can certainly believe," Stark taunted, casually talking a step towards the room. "You are the one with the gun are you not, Mr Bruno?"

"You didn't want me to shoot him," Frank snarled back, "And I already got my hands all tore up from that glass. You told me you wanted him alive," he reminded her, setting as much of the blame as he could on her for the boy's disappearance.

"That kid is worth a lot of money," Stark pointed out, "And I aim to collect." She seemed to take an interest in the bloody marks on the floor, "These don't appear to have come from your hands."

"Naw, they were here when the kid was in here, I thought he was hiding in the closet," he blurted out aloud and mentally kicking himself for the slip up on how the kid had gotten away, "seems he has a few cuts as well."

"Could work in our favour, now all we have to do is find him," Stark surmised, a thin smile appearing on her face at the thought of Bridger's brat sporting a few scars that she had not anticipated.

"No way, lady, not me, I am out," Bruno declared, preparing to leave the house.

"You and I had a deal, did we not?" Stark questioned, knowing that she had yet to pay any of the _'help' _she had acquired.

"Not this, you can take your fruit loop crusade and shove it, I don't need the aggravation. You still owe me too."

"Fine then, go then, get out I don't need you or that other boob upstairs. The brat managed to outsmart the both of you, and he is just a punk kid."

Bruno was walking towards the front of the house, muttering about broads and how he ever got mixed up in situations like this, noting that his hands were still stinging like crap from the glass door. It might be better if he disappeared from the area for a while, especially if the kid did turn up somewhere and was able to give any kind of description of his kidnappers.

* * *

Stark was talking to herself about hiring incompetent staff as she walked into the living room area of the house, wondering how to find the kid. She knew she didn't have much time and Bridger would probably be only a few hours away at the most.

She walked over to a cabinet and withdrew a canvas bag from the drawer, revealing inside, a number of vials and syringes. It was evident that she was going to have to resort to drugging the kid to sleep again just to keep him put. With Bruno looking after his own hide and gone, she wouldn't have the muscle to hold him down like she did earlier, but with the evidence that he was at least injured in some way, perhaps she would get lucky.

Just as she was putting a plan of action together, a set of double doors burst open, and Robert Cooper walked into the room, his boots dripping wet and his trousers covered in mud and grass stains.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Stark barked, knowing that it couldn't be a good sign. "Are you sure you were not followed?"

"You still owe me, Stark, I want full payment. And I expect a little bonus for the crap I have had to go through today for you," Cooper shouted, grabbing a glass from the liquor cabinet and pouring a double shot. The jacket he was wearing also wet from the rain outside. "No, I was careful."

"How careful? What had been going on?" Stark demanded, closing the door and looking outside. As if she didn't already have enough on her plate in the last half an hour.

"Bridger and Ford caught up with me back on SeaQuest, threw me in the brig for a few hours."

She knew Nathan Bridger all too well and knew that if the man even suspected someone like Cooper of looking at the kid wrong, the Captain would not have let him leave the submarine. "In the brig….Stark started to say, and then realized what his admission of being in custody meant, "Oh, God, everything is falling apart," she said angrily.

Cooper looked a little confused at first, thinking that Stark was usually more composed and in control, not wanting to elaborate on just how much of his guts he had already spilled, he gave the simplest explanation for his ease of escape from SeaQuest. "Bridger and I did a deal."

"Did a deal?" Stark parroted, her eyes narrowing and her anger growing. Cooper saw the change in her demeanor and took a brief step backwards, wary of her explosive temper.

"You idiot moron," she exploded, "Bridger is going to be following you." The few hours that she thought she might have before the SeaQuest crew stormed the place may now be in jeopardy. And that is if she was lucky it was only Bridger and his band coming. The full details of his stupidity would have to wait until later.

"Don't worry, so long as we have the kid….." Cooper began to say, and before the words had finished leaving his tongue, he now knew why she was panicking.

"He got out?" more of a statement rather than a question to her. Emotions were running high.

"He was drugged and out of it for a while, but somehow got out of the room upstairs, and led us on a merry chase around the house for the past hour or so. Bruno was supposed to recapture him, but failed and has just left when you walked in. So at the moment, the little brat is still roaming around here, or hiding somewhere."

"Just great!" he droned, thinking that the kid would be trussed up and on ice by.

Cooper was beginning to think that Stark's little vendetta to extract personal revenge on Captain Bridger was getting in the way of her ability to treat this as it should be…. a financial business transaction. Only in this case, they were dealing in human cargo, not the ordinary illegal contraband.

"Calm down, he hasn't been missing long, and it isn't as if he can go anywhere from this stinking mound of dirt," Stark reminded him. He doesn't know the layout of the house, because he was heading down from the roof when Frank and I tried to grab him a short time ago.

"He is injured, but now it is up to you to find him and hold onto him," Stark said, setting her attention back to the canvas bag and its contents.

"Injured… how bad?" The last time he had spotted the kid, he was face down in the alley way behind the dumpster.

"No idea, cut his feet on some glass but not sure how bad," Stark replied without looking up from her task.

"What have you got there?" Cooper queried, putting the empty glass on the cabinet, and feeling the warm of the liquor beginning to warm his insides. He wanted to pour another, but it looked like he had more cleaning up to do yet.

Stark opened a drawer lower down on the cabinet, this one much deeper in size. From here she withdrew a long black case, opening it and showing a rifle of some sort inside.

Cooper watched as Stark used precision and skilled accuracy to put the pieces of the weapon together. He was about to open his mouth about using such brutal force on the kid, when he saw that this was a slightly modified rifle.

"A tranquiliser?" Cooper queried, seeing the altered barrel that was meant to have a syringe loaded into it rather than a bullet. The idea of hunting down the kid with something like this quickly began to take hold in his imagination. Bridger's pet had always been a thorn in his side aboard SeaQuest. This could be fun.

"He had a fairly substantial dose last time, and got away. This time, I want to make sure," she asserted, holding a syringe that was full of a translucent dark green liquid. "Double this time, but it won't kill him just yet."

Stark finished loading the syringe and rifle, and held it out towards Cooper, a smug gleam in her eye, as she saw that such a suggestion was becoming a temptation he couldn't refuse. "Not his face, and don't miss. Make sure you bring him here to me when you have him."

"Done," Cooper promised. He had wanted to quit altogether when he left SeaQuest, get his money and run so to speak. But one last little job like this and then he was good to go.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are, Lucas," Cooper taunted as he walked away in the opposite direction, rifle ready in hand and finger on the trigger.

* * *

Hearing what he thought was a noise from behind, Lucas turned to look behind, startled, trying to peer into the darkness and falling rain at any impending threat. The teenager's slow progress once reaching outside had been reduced further to an odd fumbling hobble, with the wet ground causing pain to his injured feet.

Thoughts of escaping had kept his mind on alert, peering through the black night and constantly wiping the water from his face to get a clearer view. The rain had been light to start off with, but now that he took more notice, it was beginning to tumble down, the temperature of the air outside dropping in one spot, but feeling heavier and denser in another. The breeze was picking up speed and blow through his sodden clothes, causing him to shiver slightly.

There was no lighting on the outside of Stark's imposing fortress dash holiday home come retreat to keep unsuspecting prisoners.

The storm might have been a welcome distraction from the mayhem that he had just left if he had felt safe, but he didn't. Knowing that Stark and her entourage could be lurking anywhere, waiting and ready to pounce. His feet were screaming their displeasure at any attempt he might have had at running or even continuing his current path at more than normal walk speed.

Now that he was outside, he had to work out how to get away from Stark's place. Anywhere would be a better choice right now. Even Bridger's island home, and that renewed thought brought up emotions all of their own that he fought to suppress back down again. Definitely no time to dwell on that batch of thorns.

The teenager was constantly looking upwards, not at the stormy sky, but for any signs of security cameras along the outside of the structure. Stark knew enough about technology and deemed herself important enough to have such devices, but was shrewd enough of an operator to not necessarily have them in plain sight to pinpoint.

Her tactics were usually ones of deception, which led him to believe any cameras could be disguised or camouflaged in some way. The rainfall made it almost impossible to spot any of them. Stark could be watching him right now and know exactly where he was, ready to thwart his attempts to get away. He was under no illusion of what might lay in store for him should she recapture him. Being drugged unconscious and shoved in a guarded room wasn't going to be her first choice.

This side of the building had narrowed quite a bit since he had started in this direction, and the surface underfoot had gone from wet grass to concrete. There must be gravel too as his feet hit a patch of small sharp little stones and he gritted his teeth as he navigated along with is left arm extended out in front of him to feel for any unforeseen obstacle. But from what he was walking on, the pathway was beginning to taper off up head, and he couldn't tell if this was a good or bad thing for the moment. His stomach muscles were balled into knots of anxiety.

A flash of light in the sky caused Lucas to stop his progress and gasp at what he saw ahead. An exterior light high up on the corner of the eave shone a little more light from overhead. If he moved more than 2 feet away from the side of the building, he would fall down a concrete embankment that sloped downwards. He leaned forward to try and see how far it went, but was cautious about getting too closer to the edge. There was a small bricked curb present, but it would not stop any sudden decent down the hardened grey gradient should one lose their footing.

Lucas turned around, the urge that he was being followed multiplying tenfold.

"Whose there…"

At first only his own voiced drowned out by the noise of the storm and rain. Wiping the water from his face yet again, he turned to face forward again, to be confronted by the silhouette of a man standing a short distance away, the shape of a weapon unmistakable.

"Won't do you any good to run this time, Lucas"

The teenager went to take a few steps backwards, intending to take flight, but stumbling awkwardly at the sudden change in direction. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it for a minute. The words were muffled by the sound of thunder and blown away by the wind before he could hear them properly.

Cooper couldn't wipe the smirk of satisfaction from his face as he stood in front of the sodden teenager. His hair hanging limply over his forehead, and his gait unsteady as he backed away. He announced his intentions further by shifting the rifle against his shoulder, and grinning when he saw the wide-eyed expression on the boy's face.

* * *

As Bridger and Ford's rescue teams got closer to the large mound of rock Cooper had headed towards, they severed power to the small motors and drifted closer to the rocky edge using oars as quietly as possibly.

Looking up at the house like structure that stood higher up, Bridger could definitely believe that this is where someone like Marilyn called home. It was with relief that Nathan applauded the thought about her possible hideout being surrounded by water. There was no doubt in his mind that Lucas was being kept against his will there.

Bridger could see the real estate brochure for such a place now, 'Waterfront views boasting a modern structure with functionality and displaying extravagance at an affordable price for any would be assassin and saboteur.'

Kristin saw the half laugh from Bridger but didn't necessarily understand what was behind it. She knew that he was focused on a single task at the moment, and that the man wouldn't be dissuaded from it until Lucas was found and safe.

Keeping as low as possible alongside the inflatable boats, and loading the equipment onto their backs, Ford and the small band of crew members gathered together to discuss the next steps of their mission. They had to get this right the first time, and their friend's life was at stake.

"How do you want to do this, Captain?" Jonathan addressed Bridger, the whites of his eyes standing out against the darkness of his skin and the black clothing that they had all donned beforehand. The cover of darkness was one plus they had to try and avoid alerting Stark too early to their presence, but the rain and storm overheard was not making their efforts any easier. The rain was continuing to fall and the thunder was coming in loud rolls at various intervals.

"We need to keep together in two tight knit groups," Nathan said, using a small pen flash light to direct some light onto his hands and the group as they whispered their plan of attack. "You take the Lieutenant here and Kristin and make your way up the left side, and O'Neill, Ortiz and I will go right."

"Remember this is a rescue mission, finding Lucas is the objective, but don't get yourselves in the way of Stark or any of her gorillas in the process. She won't be asking questions first and we are pretty much blind to how many might be in there with her and what fire power they all have until we get there," the Captain emphasized.

"Move towards the back of the place as quickly as quietly as possible, chances are wherever she is keeping Lucas, it won't be where anybody can see him easily."

"Radio silent unless it is absolutely necessary and if it all goes pear shaped, protect yourselves and your team mates becomes the priority."

"Everyone understand?"

"Yes, Sir," came from four of them, and Kristin nodded her head to acknowledge that she had listened well enough.

Bridger and his team waited until Ford, and Krieg started out, with Kristin safely wedged between them, and then gave the single for Tim and Miguel to follow him.

The area directly at the waterline was rocky and treacherous, sloping upwards towards a grassy plateau. The gradient of the slope had all in both teams stretching and wincing a little at the cramping in their muscles as they reached the top. The rocks had been slippery and wet, and Tim wasn't sure that he hadn't hurt his wrist as he stumbled in one particular spot. Rubbing at it and assessing it, he made a mental note to get Doctor Westphalen to check it after they had rescued Lucas.

Ford's team had already moved away from the grassy area and headed towards the right as instructed, by the time Bridger's started towards the more darker left side of the building. The closer they got, the more imposing it became with the dark grey walls and glass frontage.

Kristen signaled to Jonathan as she looked over and saw a helicopter pad quite some distance away from the house. The helicopter was in place, and it looked like the one that the doctor and Krieg had witnessed on the monitors back at Bridger's home, transporting a struggling Lucas away with his captors. There didn't appear to be any guard posted near it at present.

Ford was worried about all the glass windows at the front of the house, that he and his team would be spotted. Like Lucas, he had no idea of knowing if there were any security cameras, but knowing her leadership capabilities, knew that she would be somehow trying to monitor everything.

Krieg looked back at Kristin who was beginning to fall behind the two men, and stifled back a laugh at the sight of the red soaked tendrils that were plastered to her face along with the annoyed scowl. They were all getting wet and cold, but it was clear that the good natured doctor was not in a forgiving mood and ready to kick something… _hard_. He quickly turned forward again at seeing her spot his smile at her appearance. She briefly let one of her own show once he had refocused on their task.

On the other side of the building, Bridger was thinking his little trio was going to have to backtrack some and follow Ford's party instead. The left hand side of the building was just too dark to see, and they kept their flash lights off for now, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to themselves just yet.

A quick diversion of 20 or so metres off their present course, saw Miguel and O'Neill following Bridger's lead into a part of the house that was more sheltered from the front windows. Their wasn't very much light, but the second storey gave them a little protection from the falling rain. Giving a hand signal to pause their current position, Bridger carefully leaned around the wall partition he was hiding behind. He could see light coming from the front windows of the house.

Just as he prepared to duck back again, he saw a familiar blond head. Marilyn Stark…

* * *

Squinting, it took a few minutes for Lucas to recognize the man's face, and the confusion he threw back towards was evident, "W-What the hell are you doing here?" last seeing the man in question aboard the SeaQuest when they had docked more than a day ago.

The puzzle pieces still hadn't fallen into place yet without him knowing about Cooper's connection to Marilyn Stark, and how the man now came to be on her property.

Cooper's face quickly morphed from a smirk into a sneer of utter contempt and loathing. The teenager had never guessed that he would openly show his aggression and threaten his life. Both of them were soaked to the skin and still standing in the rain, but for some reason Lucas found his limbs unco-operative and not listening to his silent demands to move.

Lucas knew that they had not been on the best terms, knowing that the man was preventing from talking too loud or doing anything out in the open for fear of the Captain's wrath. Up until now it had been Bridger's presences that stayed the man. But he swallowed the lump forming at the top of his throat as they now stood only a short distance apart and with Cooper at a clear advantage brandishing the rifle menacingly in his direction.

"If you come with me now, perhaps we can prevent this from becoming troublesome," Cooper tried to persuade.

Lucas had only managed to hear half of the sentence, but was genuinely surprised and scared at the man's continually changing demeanor. Cooper had gone from someone saw himself as Bridger's protected pet or star pupil. A rich brat who got all the special treatment and never had to lift a finger to do anything aboard SeaQuest.

"I am not going anywhere with you," answering the words he did hear with as much defiance as he could whilst standing out in a storm shivering. He cautiously took another step backwards, glancing to his right, thinking he might be able to dart off in a different direction and throw Cooper off for a second or so.

Taking a huge risk, and psyching himself mentally, Lucas went to dive to his right, but misjudged the distance, and gave a startled yelp of surprise as he saw Cooper move all too quickly towards him with a massive shoulder charge.

The resulting clashing, caused Lucas to lose his footing on the wet concrete and his right calf fall against the bricked curb. He reached out both arms in an attempt to stop falling further, but the jarred landing on his calf sent shooting pain down his leg and he automatically grasped at it in pain. His precarious balance was upset further, and he had to scramble to hold onto a curb brick to prevent himself from tumbling down the steep concrete embankment.

In amidst the chaos, Cooper cursed out loud as the contact with the kid caused him to lose his grip on the rifle. It landed with a wet clattering sound near his feet, until he quickly picked it up again, roughly flicking off the water. He could see the kid was trying to dart around him and try to avoid him all in the same unrehearsed movement.

The teenager's knuckles were scraped and bleeding from coming into contact with the rough brickwork. His clothes clumping together in untidy folds.

"You really should not have done that, Lucas," Cooper sneered, his anger and frustration at being soaking wet clearly showing towards the teenager.

"You don't have to do this," Lucas pleaded, his voice sounding strained even to his own ears.

With the teenager laying only a few feet away, and at an severe disadvantage, he malice only grew stronger. Cooper held the rifle up, his finger on the trigger, "Oh, but I do…."

* * *

Jonathan Ford had seen an opportunity to enter the building through a side door, hoping to catch Stark by surprise. He didn't know that the second small rescue team, lead by the Captain, was close by the front, and ready to make an entrance of their own.

Ford relayed a brief plan of what he planned, Krieg a little dubious about just walking in, but ready to carry out any instructions.

"Hold it right where you are, Stark," the dark-skinned Commander ordered as he entered the spacious first floor, keeping his weapon trained on her the whole time. By putting his training into practice, he could sense where his back up of Krieg and Westphalen were. Krieg carrying his own weapon, but the doctor was not.

"Knock, knock, the good guys are here," Krieg announced with a comedic voice, causing his team mates to roll their eyes slightly as his unorthodox approach.

His brief glance towards Ford saying what was unspoken between then, _'What, like you had a better way of saying it'_

'_Let's keep this professional, Lieutenant'_ was glared back in his direction.

Marilyn Stark turned at her name being called, but it was obvious that she had been expecting them, "Well, well, well… to what do I owe this intrusion?"

"Don't play games, Stark," Ford warned, "Where is Lucas?"

Before any response was given, Bridger and his party entered through the front door, and now gave backup numbers to the other team.

Bridger walked over as closely as he dared, wary too of any weapon she might be concealing. For the moment they needed her alive to tell them where Lucas was.

"My, my, my, a double surprise….and dripping all over my floor, tsk tsk," Stark laughed with a mixture of utter contempt and fake amusement in her voice.

It was clear to all in the room, that she was not afraid of them or their presence, and held her usual self-confident, defiant pose when facing them. She had an empty glass in one hand and showed no outwards signs of fear or panic.

"I am not playing games, Marilyn, what have you done with him. And I want to know now, damn it!" Bridger demanded forcibly.

"With who?" she began to taunt, "Oh you mean the brat…,that nice young man, you claim to love so much,"

Bridger went to take a step forwards, in threat at her blazé reply, but held his control as much as he could. Ford was keeping a close eye on Krieg and Doctor Westphalen, knowing that either of them were likely to grab a hold of her and knock the stuffing out of her. They couldn't afford to do that, even if that is how they all felt.

"You look a little tense, Nathan… perhaps you need a drink," she offered casually.

She knew that every second she delayed on the teenager's whereabouts, tore the Captain up more inside. She reveled in his emotional display and could see him starting to lose his self control. The great Nathan Bridger, made out to be a leader and negotiator and man of peace, but when push came to shove, and someone he cared about was in danger, he was like all the rest. Willing to do whatever it took to get them back. Just how far he was prepared to go, she was intent on finding out.

"Last time I saw the kid, Mr Cooper was going to find him and have a little _personal chat _with him. Despite our best efforts, he managed to escape our companyand somehow got outside."

"If you did anything else to hurt him…," Krieg began to get riled at the thought of what Lucas would have gone through to 'escape'.

Krieg and the Captain both exchanged worried glances, knowing that a meeting between the two could not be a good thing for Lucas.

A smirk from her confirmed their fears that Lucas had come across some trouble since they had seen him on the monitors. If she hadn't, somebody did.

"Commander, bind her hands. Ortiz and Mr O'Neill, you stay here with Doctor Westphalen. Krieg, you and Ford come with me to find Lucas."

"When we leave here, you two take a look upstairs and make sure she isn't keeping Lucas prisoner upstairs anywhere. You still have your radios on, use them if you find anything. We will do the same," Bridger ordered.

Ford lowered his weapon and used a black zip-tie to secure Stark's hands behind her back, making her walk towards a nearby sofa and take a seat until they could make further arrangements for custody. He handed his weapon to Kristin, who reluctantly took possession of it, knowing how to use it if it became absolutely necessary.

Marilyn looked towards the diminutive red-haired woman, "Are you certain you should have someone like her guarding me, Nathan?" Not much of a challenge by the look of it."

"I am soaking wet, tired, and cold," Kristin said in a low dangerous voice, "Park your butt on that chair and don't move!" daring Stark to say anything.

"I think the good doctor will do just fine, Captain," Krieg quipped with a smile on all their faces at the doctor's cool response. Not too many people who knew her would be stupid enough to take on an angry Kristin Westphalen, could be fun to watch.

* * *

"Come on, let's go," Bridger instructed, heading towards the front door he had entered, intent on finding Lucas.

Now that they were outside again, the rainfall had deceased a little, and the storm was beginning to show signs of ending. There were still a few distant rolls of thunder, but the bolt lightning had tapered off. A flicker of sheet lightning outlined the overhead cloud, but then settled again.

Captain Bridger was about to signal for the trio to split up into different directions to try and locate Lucas and Cooper, preferably the teenager first. But just then noise could be heard on the left hand side of the building.

The three men quickly turned and headed in that direction, noting that there was only a narrow corridor along that side of the building.

A few minutes earlier, whilst they had all been inside facing Marilyn Stark, Cooper had still been aiming his tranquilizer rifle at the teenager, ready to fire.

Lucas could see the sloping concrete underneath him, and knew that he had to make it back over the curb to stop himself from falling. He could see that Cooper was in no mood for small talk and he wasn't strong enough to take the man on in a physical contest.

Despite his scraped and bleeding knuckles, he used his right hand in an attempt to reach out and grab Cooper by the ankle, hoping to put him off balance for a second, and scramble back up the embankment. Just as he grabbed a hold of the man's trouser leg, he thought he heard his name being called.

He was shivering even harder from the cold, though the rain had slowed a little. The clothes he wore were still soggy and drenched, causing his grip on anything to be slippery at best.

After rounding the corner of the building, the three SeaQuest crew members could scarcely believe their luck at having found Lucas in such a short period of time. What they hadn't expected was to see a figure standing over Lucas holding a gun on him.

Ford could see the concrete embankment running along the side of the building, and could see that it appeared Lucas had fallen or been pushed into his current position. He had given his weapon to Doctor Westphalen inside, so was not able to stop the man from threatening teenager further that way.

Cooper started at the sound of the voices for a second, looking up and surprised himself to see members of SeaQuest barreling down on him. He didn't know how they had gotten here so fast, but he wasn't going to waste the opportunity while they were watching.

"Don't shoot," Bridger pleaded, as he tried to get to the gunman before he fired.

"Hold it right there, Cooper!" a running Ben Krieg shouted.

At hearing the voices of Krieg and the Captain, that made the fearful look on the kid's face even better to watch, and the horror as he realized that his friends wouldn't be able to stop him in time.

Without further warning, Cooper fired the syringe projectile, striking the kid on his left side flank, knowing he had hit his intended target upon hearing the strangulated gasp of pain and confusion.

Bridger tried to reach out and grab a hold of Lucas's arm as his grip on the concrete curb began to fail.

"Lucas reach out and grab a hold of my hand," Bridger said in a firm, but gentle voice as he felt to his knees on the wet ground and tried to help the striken teenager.

Lucas had heard the noise of the gun and felt something strike him. With confusion clearly evident on his face, he pulled at the spot where he felt the burning pain, but there was a numbness beginning to take over his limbs, and it fell limply out of his hand before he could see what it was.

The teenager looked upwards at someone calling his name, but his vision began to swim, and the faces that he thought he saw, merged together in a swirl of colours and sounds only. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but couldn't prevent himself beginning from sliding down the embankment.

Bridger thought he saw recognition and relief briefly in the teenager's eyes, before it was replaced with shock and pain. Lucas was then slipping and falling away from him, blooding blossoming from a wound, leaving a thin trail behind as he rapidly fell towards the bottom.

An open mouthed look of shock was the only expression on his face as Bridger watched Lucas lose consciousness, but his body continue to slide downward the embankment.

"Lucas!" Bridger shouted but unable to see how far it was to the bottom.

"Oh my God, Captain," was Commander Ford's response as he saw the teenager tumble down the slope, knowing that their friend desperately needed their help urgently.

"Pulling himself from his own shock and horror at what had happened to his young friend, "You sick _'Son of a Bitch' _Krieg roared all at once.

Ben wasted no time in displaying his sense of outrage, barreling into Cooper and knocking him forcefully to the ground, and dislodging the rifle from his hand.

At the bottom of the concrete embankment, Lucas's body now lay slumped against the trunk of a tree. The side of his head leaning against the dark coloured bark, his eyes closed and his face slack. A leaf was stuck to a cheek on his pale face, pinched in pain and exhaustion.

The rain from overhead began to fall heavy once more.

To be continued…..

**Author Notes:**

Thank you for anybody who is still reading. Real life has been in the way for too long – but hopefully this year I can turn that around a little – and post more regularly.

I am excited about writing – though my efforts are not quite what I would like at the moment.

I hope you are still enjoying – there are many more stories planned, but I want to finish the ones that need to be first. A lot of the new ones will intertwine with each other or what I have already written.

The fight scene between Ben and Cooper is about to happen – I was going to have it in this – but it has changed a little from my original idea.

Stark is a fantastic character – but I don't think I have gotten into her head properly yet to make her work as well as I would like.

Jules


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